


Thick as thieves

by BethanyJDoll



Category: Persona 4, Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Actual Phantom Thieves (Persona 5), Alternate Universe - No Metaverse (Persona 5), Alternate Universe - No Personas (Persona Series), F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:53:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26887681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BethanyJDoll/pseuds/BethanyJDoll
Summary: Dossier: The Phantom Thieves of Hearts.The Phantom Thieves of Hearts are a group of criminals who have rose to fame alarmingly fast within the past six months. Their most notable crimes have been a series of elaborate heists with seemingly no correlation between their targets, this has made determining the motivations of each of their heists difficult. Their identities are unknown save for what we believe to be their codenames. Their members also seemingly regularly visit and post on their own "Phan site" however we have been unable to breach their cyber security to trace them. Whoever they really are, they're good.Report signed, Goro Akechi
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Takamaki Ann, Kurusu Akira/Takamaki Ann, Persona 5 Protagonist/Takamaki Ann
Comments: 19
Kudos: 47





	1. Dossier: Phantom Thieves of Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> So I noticed a severe lack of real phantom thieves fics here so after many months of deliberating I've decided to bite the bullet and make one myself. There is Shuann but it won't be extremely relevant, atleast to start with. Other pairings may appear as the story goes on but we'll see how it evolves. (This is my first fic here so criticism and comments are welcomed but please be merciful)

Dossier: The Phantom Thieves of Hearts.  
The Phantom Thieves of Hearts are a group of criminals who have rose to fame alarmingly fast within the past six months. Their most notable crimes have been a series of elaborate heists with seemingly no correlation between their targets, this has made determining the motivations of each of their heists difficult. Their identities are unknown save for what we believe to be their codenames. Their members also seemingly regularly visit and post on their own "Phan site" however we have been unable to breach their cyber security to trace them. Whoever they really are, they're good.

The members we know of are:

"Joker": The leader of the group, it seems he calls the shots and commands the team.

"Skull": Believed to be the muscle of the group however there is little solid evidence to back this up.

"Panther": According to their phan site posts they are the infiltration specialist.

"Fox": A self proclaimed 'artist', it is believed they design the Phantom Thieves calling cards.

"Queen": Her potential role in the group is unkown as she has little presence on the phan site.

"Oracle": Their 'tech specialist' and self proclaimed 'best hacker in the world.'

"Noir": Her potential group role is also unkown however based on some of their phan site posts, they appear to be a sadist.

"Crow": They have only posted once on the phan site and the others rarely mention them. 

(We also believe there may be a godfather type figure however that is just speculation.)

The high profile heists and their victims are as follows.

Their first high profile heist was from what we could find, the earliest appearance of the thieves. It's victim was one Suguru Kamoshida, a former gold medal winning Olympian athlete. Other than cash the only notable thing taken was his gold medal, which appeared for sale online a month later but despite this it's current location is still unkown.

The victim of their second high profile heist was the famous artist Ichiryusai Madarame. From both his residence and several art museums, several pieces of his were stolen. It should be noted that the pieces stolen were not all incredibly valuable pieces. It later came to light that one of the pieces they stole was the original 'Sayuri' however this conflicts with a previous report. This is being investigated currently.

In their third high profile heist they stole from bank CEO Junya Kaneshiro. From one of his banks and his home several items of personal value and gold bars were stolen. It should be noted no cash was taken from either places. It should also be noted that the resulting investigation of his home revealed he has potential criminal underworld ties, he also attempted to bribe officers to overlook that. This investigation is also currently in progress.

In their fourth high profile heist they stole from former Big Bang Burger CEO Kunikazu Okumera. This time however the only thing reported stolen was legal documents, the contents of which he refused to divulge. It is worth noting that since the heist he has apparently lost himself and the company alot of money and for unkown reasons resigned (or more likely, was ousted) as the CEO of Big Bang Burger. 

Their fifth, and most recent high profile heist was different from the others as this time they did not target an individual, instead robbing a very successful casino. This time they stole an undisclosed amount of cash directly from the vault, they also somehow rigged all the games against the house that same night. The casino is currently closed and being thoroughly investigated by it's owner.

A common theme among the victims could not be established and as such the heist motivations are unkown, because of this we have no idea who their next high profile heist may be. They also conduct numerous smaller, less grand heists on smaller targets. These are detailed in a separate file.

(The Phantom Thieves of Hearts are undoubtedly one of the greatest criminal groups of the 21st century and are some of the country's most wanted criminals. They are smart and skilled but seem to have a penchant for the theatrical, perhaps eventually they will slip up because of this.) 

Report signed, detective Goro Akechi

\----------

Anon: Sooo I and alot of other people have been wondering why you guys robbed the casino. The other guys I understand, they're all rich a$$holes but why the casino?

Pthief Joker: Ah we've gotten this question alot recently so I might as well answer. We have our reasons, we did target someone in robbing the casino we were just...less direct this time. But also, we did it partly just to prove we could.

After answering his one question for this week, Ren shut off his phone and placed it to charge on the bedside table. He smirked thinking of how they would react to his response, since he'd decided not to answer every question asked to him on the phan site he decided to answer some of the bigger ones, one weekly was what he decided in the end. It was risky revealing some of the details he did and Makoto advised against it but Ren just couldn't stop himself from flaunting and boasting a little sometimes. Okay maybe a lot sometimes.

He turned to face Ann, who was beside him in bed and was using his left arm for a pillow and had her arms wrapped around him. He smiled as he brushed some of her hair off of her face, she was so cute when she was sleeping. Not that she wasn't cute all the time but it was different when she was sleeping.

He closed his eyes and thought about their potential next target. They'd been asked by Ohya to erase some museum security footage of her breaking in after she'd received a tip that some of it's exhibits were fake. Her endless quest to find the next scoop was going to be the death of her one day, he thought. They decided that they might as well use the opportunity to make some money in the process, plus she never did find out if the museum actually had fake exhibits or not. 

They'd been getting more bolder with their targets and what they stole, originally they weren't supposed to steal anything for themselves but after some internal debate decided that their targets were rich enough to not miss what they stole.

He decided eventually to stop thinking and actually go to sleep, he had a habit of staying awake to plan things in his mind. Something Ann had scolded him over when she first found out.

Something he was sure of though, was that their next heist was going to be grand.


	2. Sacrilegious Acts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren has trouble coming up with a plan due to the difference of this heist to his normal ones.  
> Ann and Yusuke visit a museum to admire the art, or more accurately. To critique it.  
> Kunikazu Okumera receives some bad news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I wrote this while a little sleep deprived so please forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes you see. I will establish a schedule for this soon. Enjoy!

This next heist was going to be grand. Or at least it would be if Ren could actually get even just a little bit of a plan but he was thoroughly drained of all energy today. Today had been a busy day at Leblanc, some sort of event was happening nearby which meant people were in and out all day, he did manage to grab a quick lunch with Ryuji however so it wasn't all bad today at least. For how much the other thieves praised his plan ideas, he didn't think they understood how much effort actually went into planning them. Well maybe Makoto did, she's the one who refines and checks his plan for oversights after all. But she was waiting on the next one, and she's been quite busy with college recently which leaves her with little free time so the sooner Ren gave her the plan the better.

Ren didn't know why Makoto decided to stay in college on top of being one of the most wanted criminals in the country and every time he asked her about it she just said that she liked to keep busy. He didn't know how she did it, he was only working in Leblanc part time and even just that seemed to make him exhausted most of the time.

Ren sighed as he leaned back in his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was getting nowhere with the plan no matter how hard he tried to think. If someone asked for coffee right now he wasn't sure he'd have the mental or physical energy to make one. Luckily for him there were no customers right now. He just wasn't in the right mindset for planning right now and couldn't get into it no matter how hard he tried, it hadn't been an issue in the past so he didn't know how to deal his block this time. In the past they had targets to plan around, they just had to find out their daily schedule and that usually got the ball rolling however this time their target was an actual building and not it's owner.

Ren heard Leblanc's bell ring as the door opened.  
"Wow, you look tired kid. Was today that bad?" He heard Sojiro say. Ren looked at his adopted dad and groaned. "They wouldn't stop coming Sojiro, apparently some sort of convention is happening today."

"Yeah that happens now and again, it's also partly because we are known for having some of the best coffee in the city so when people are nearby they decide to come see for themselves. Well if it was as bad as some of the events we had last year I can imagine you must be pretty drained. You can head home now if you want, I can handle the rest of the day." Sojiro responded while taking off his hat and coat then donning his apron.

"I appreciate it." Ren sighed yet again. "It's been a long day."

Now noticing the small, blank notebook and pencil on the counter Sojiro spoke up again. "Is your other job giving you trouble?" He asked while picking up a glass to clean.

Ren took off his glasses with one hand and rubbed his eyes with his other. "A little yeah. Makoto is waiting for this and I have no idea where to even start."

"Well why don't you walk me through what you normally do, maybe talking about it out loud to someone will help."

"Yeah maybe, worth a shot at least. Okay, normally we get our target's general daily and weekly schedule, then work around that. The issue is that buildings don't have a daily schedule and a job."

"Hmm I can see how that would stump you a little. You are right about buildings not having a job but they do have schedules."

Ren looked at him, confused, then Sojiro continued.  
"Buildings have many schedules because many people work in them, they have schedules and there are plenty of em."

"Of course!" Ren said suddenly standing up and slamming his hand against the counter. "That's so simple, why didn't I think of that?" He asked himself.

"Well you do seem pretty tired, maybe you've over exerted yourself recently. It happened to me plenty of times back in my old job, what you need right now is a cleanse. Something to unclutter your mind." Sojiro said, still absently cleaning the glass. "Hey are you listening to me?" He said realising Ren was now writing in the notebook.

"Yeah yeah, I need a cleanse, I'll get to doing one soon." Ren said waving his hand at him.

"I mean it kid, you're gonna over work yourself and then you'll make a mistake and get caught. I don't want to loose you and your friends as well alright? I know what happens if you do get caught and it's not nice." Sojiro said, frowned at him, then sighed. "Sorry, I don't mean to nag you every time you start planning like this but you mean alot to me, your friends too. Before you guys it was just me and Futaba and since you came along my life's been a lot more lively, it's been a lot happier too if I'm being honest." He said earnestly with a half smile on his face.

Ren paused at that, looked up and breathed a laugh. "Careful old man, you're showing affection."

"Old man! I'm still young enough to take you on y'know." Sojiro said, finally putting the very clean glass away. "Look, just go home already, you deserve a break."

"If you insist." Ren said, standing up. He put the note pad in his pocket and collected his things. He opened the door then turned back to say "Same goes for me by the way. Before I met you and the others, my life was boring. But now it's thrilling and actually happy." He walked out the door and waved goodbye to his adoptive father with a smile on his face.  
\----------

"This one looks nice, actually it seems kinda similar to some of your pieces Yusuke."

Yusuke laughed as he looked at the painting Ann was looking at, then paused seeing Ann's unamused expression. "What, you were serious?" He asked rhetorically. "It does look nice I admit but that's about the only thing it has going for it, if you analyse it then it becomes obvious that it's actually quite poor work."

Ann was confused at this. "But it's a painting, it's supposed to look good. Isn't it?" At this Yusuke scoffed.

"For a lesser artist maybe, but I am critical of my work and so can easily see when a painting has been painted quickly and carelessly. I'll explain it. I'll start with the brush strokes, do you see anything distinguishing about them?" He asked her.

"Not really." She said squinting at the painting. "Am I supposed to?"

Yusuke sighed a little before gesturing to several parts of the painting. "The brush strokes and too short and overlap too often. It's caused the paint to lump together in some places. See there?"

"Yeah I see it. Now that you've pointed it out, I can see it's happened a lot actually." Ann said following yusuke's gestures.

"Right. The paint has lumped together, which creates an uneven texture, which in turn makes the painting look rough. On top of that the colours used are all cold colours and have been blended together too often, it doesn't catch the eye at all. The cold colours combined with the rough look of the paint push viewers away instead of drawing them in. The only reason I can think a serious art collecter would have to buy this piece would be to emphasise a better piece." He continued, then saw Ann looking at him. "You look overwhelmed, was it something I said?"

At that Ann just giggled. "You really have an eye for this stuff. I'm totally clueless about it though." She said pouting a little.

"Ah but you are quite familiar with fashion however, a subject which I have been told I am quite terrible with." Yusuke said, in an attempt to brighter her mood back up a little. An attempt, which apparently worked as she seemed to laugh a little at his comment.

"You know, I bet art and fashion overlap a lot. Maybe we should trade notes sometime." Ann commented then noticed he was staring at something or someone behind her. "What is it? Is someone on to us?" She asked, suddenly concerned.

"What? Oh no, my apologies. I saw a lobster sculpture and got lost in admiration." Yusuke explained. At that she just rolled her eyes.

"You and your lobsters, honestly. What even happened to the two you bought anyway? I haven't seen them since that day at the beach." Ann asked, then realised he was staring again. "What? Did you see a lobster painting this time?"

"No, a security guard is saying something to his radio, and additionaly he has been eyeing is for the past minute. I think it's time we take our leave of this place Ann." Yusuke said quietly.

Ann's expression fell. "Did you see enough? We haven't been here long."

"I saw a decent amount, plenty for what we are looking for I assure you." Yusuke said quietly, reassuring her.

They both started to walk through the halls swiftly, heading towards the exit. Eventually Ann sighed heavily. "What's on your mind? You seem troubled." Yusuke asked her.

"I was hoping to see more. It's a really nice building. Hey, maybe I should take Ren here sometime. He loves museums and not just for the value of their contents." Ann said thoughtfully. "He becomes a little boy when he sees a dinosaur skeleton."

"Well I would give it a while, with what we have planned. This place may be closed for a time." Yusuke said, before fully registering everything she said. "Ren loves dinosaurs? Perhaps he should talk with Ryuji about them, he loves dinosaurs also. Honestly I too was quite fond of dinosaurs, but merely when I was a child"

"You too? I didn't think you'd be the type to like dinosaurs." Ann said putting a finger on her lips in thought. "Maybe it's a boy thing."  
\----------

"THEY'RE DOING WHAT!?"

Haru heard her father shout to whoever was on the other end of the call, clearly outraged at something. She was standing by the door to his study, being careful not to be seen or heard by him.

"They can't do that! My public image will go down in flames! I'll receive more hate than I already do and some of my associates my may cease contact with me entirely! Isn't there anything we can do to stop them going public?" She heard him say.

"You can't do anything? What do I even pay you for?" He rose now, standing up from his chair. "If we can't stop them going public with it then we'll need to start preparing for it. When does it go public?" Haru saw her father's expression turn worrisome, or at least moreso than it was. "That soon? Alright, we'll have to meet tomorrow then. Come around midday and we can talk about what to do." The elder Okumera hung up his call, sat back down and massaged his brow.

Seeing her chance, Haru walked in. "Is everything alright father? I heard you shouting." She said looking concerned.

"Oh Haru, no I'm not alright. I was just informed that the legal case against me is going public. I'm sorry I disturbed you." Kunikazu said, looking genuinely apologetic for once.

Haru paused and drew a long silence before she spoke. "I see, that must be stressful for you. You certainly look stressed, would you like me to make you some tea? It may help you relax." She asked earnestly.

"No, I don't want any tea Haru." He paused and drew a breath. "But thank you for offering."

"Of course father, I'll leave you to yout business then." Haru said before turning back when she reached the door. "Please forgive me if im overstepping my boundaries here, but I overheard part of your conversation. Something about your public image I think?" She said.

Kunikazu sighed before speaking. "Yes, when the case goes public. My public image will plummet.

Haru looked up, as if in thought. "If your public image is about to fall. Then the sooner you start repairing it, the less the damage will be right? Maybe you should fund an event or something, there's a few big ones happening soon I think. I can bring you a list if you-"

"That's okay Haru, don't concern yourself with issues higher than you." Her father said, interrupting her. "Although... that's not a terrible idea and you do have a point."

"My apologies. I will leave now. Good luck father." Haru said as she left the room and smirked. 'Clueless as ever' she thought to herself.  
\----------

Ren slowed his pace as he opened his phone to read his newest message from Haru. The weekend had been a busy one, and a good thing it was too. From the viewpoint of the plan at least.

He looked up as he approached club velvet, there was a long line tonight so he decided to head round back, he wasnt going to stay that long anyway.

As he walked through the side alley and approached the backdoor he stopped before entering and allowed himself to be frisked by the man standing guard by the door. After being given the clear to head inside he took the familiar path to the second floor and nodded to a familiar man standing near a door to a private room. Ren then walked to the near outside balcony, leaned on the left railing and waited.

After a few minutes he heard footsteps get closer as the person approaching person walked onto the balcony and leaned on the forward rail near enough to Ren so that they could talk to each other but not enough to see each other in their peripherals.

"Is it going well?" They asked.

"It's going fine, still in the early stages of the planning though. But that's not what I'm here about." Ren responded.

"Oh? Do you have new information for me? Or is this about the 'butterfly' as you call it?" The person asked.

"That it is. I've just received word from Haru that the case against her father is going public. I also received a few tips that said that the investigations into Madarame and Kaneshiro are being given a higher priority in light of newly revealed evidence. The butterfly is flying higher." Ren said with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Good. And the Casino target?" The other person asked.

"Nothing from him yet. The moment I hear anything significant from him, you'll be told." Ren said.

"Good. We've worked hard to get here so be careful alright?" The person said. "Anyway I've got some other business to take care of tonight so I must get going. Give my regards to your Lady Ann." The other person said before walking away.

Ren stayed on the balcony for another five minutes or so thinking about all the pieces in play now. They all seemed to be developing just as he wanted them to.


	3. Hoist the Flag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryuji gets angry at Ren because of his part of the plan and Futaba prepares the calling card for the heist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I think I've figured out a workable upload schedule for me. For now a chapter will be added every Monday and Thursday, if I discover that this is an unreasonable schedule for me I'll change it. This is another partly sleep deprived chapter so again forgive any mistakes please. I'm not 100% happy with how some parts of this turned out but I'm pleased enough to publish it so please enjoy!

Ren took a sip of his coffee. It was cold by now but his throat was dry so he needed something to moisten it. Ren made a little face when the cold beverage hit his throat, having forgotten about it's temperature.

He and Makoto had been finalising the plan in Leblanc, they'd been talking quietly but also quickly. They realised this morning that it requires relying a decent amount on chance, that things would fall into place the way they needed. They had been so far, but Makoto was meticulous and very cautious. She was insistent that she and Ren discuss backup plans incase something didn't fall into place as they wanted, this in turn led to them rehashing and rewriting most of the Phantom Thieves emergency contingency plans. Most of which, they wrote when they were still in high school. Alot had changed since then so he thought it best to agree with her in rehashing their contingencies. Just in case.

"And that covers number 26. Do you want to keep going?" Makoto asked.

"I forgot how elaborate we made some of these. I'm not sure, it's nearly lunch time so this place will be getting busier." Ren said absently.

"Alright then, we'll discuss the others another time. After that we'll need to hold a team meeting to update the others on the new emergency plans." Makoto commented then saw Ron nod. She took a drink of her coffee as they both sat for a few minutes silent. "Ryuji won't like his part of the plan, have fun telling him about that." She eventually said to break the silence.

Ren sat back and said "Oh I will. Once he stops yelling that is." Ren put his empty cup down on the table. "He's never been in a standby position for one of major heists before. The sooner we fix that, the less issues it will cause." Ren took a breath. "Besides it's not like he's the only one on the sidelines, both you and Futaba will both be on the backburner aswell, although Futaba for different reasons."

Makoto took another sip of her coffee. "Still though, I think he's been going through some stuff lately. He's been off whenever I've seen him recently. I'm not a genius at sensing when someone is hiding something like Yusuke is or as empathic as Ann but something is going on with him. Eventually he'll let it all out, no matter if he intends to or not. Maybe it's better that he does it sooner rather than later honestly. The sooner he does it, the less he'll have to hide it"

"Yeah I get what you mean, and I've noticed it too but if Ryuji's not told me about it then he probably has good reason. But I will keep that in mind." Ren said, nodding.

"Back to the plan though. I'd prefer it if the finale wasn't so... flashy. I know that we've been wanting to do a big reveal for years but this way just doesn't sit right with me. If someome sees you, or recognises you-" Makoto said shaking her head.

"Oh lord, not this again M. How many times have you given me this lecture?." Ren said interuptung her.

"And how many times do you actually heed my warnings? They're valid concerns Ren." Makoto said sternly.

"We can't stay hidden forever Makoto. I understand your concerns but we've managed this far without making a mistake. Three years doing this and we've never made a major slip up." Ren said becoming more serious. They both turned to the door at the ringing of the bell that meant customers. Ren looked at his watch then said "I should go, I have a meeting with Yoshida soon."

"Listen to yourself, you're so cocky." Makoto said, standing up with him. "If you're too overconfident and make a mistake any of us could end up hurt or worse!"

Ren stopped in his tracks and turned his head halfway to look at Makoto as his expression dropped and turned dark. "We both know I don't need to be reminded about that. Despite what you might think, I remember what happened the last time I slipped up. I won't let it happen again. Have a good day Makoto." Ren said to her and then left.  
\----------

"You're doing what!" Ryuji's shout echo'd through the empty gym. "Ren, I've never been on standby before, I'm always with the infiltration team." Ryuji spoke to Ren, holding the phone to his ear.

"I understand that Ryuji but you don't need to be for this one." Ren responded with on the other end of the call.

"But I'm the charge commander, I'm meant to be up front with you leading the charge!" Ryuji argued.

"Ryuji..." Ren sighed from the other side of the line. "The upcoming heist requires a more subtle touch. And you're not exactly the most subtle of people." Ren countered with.

"WHAT'S THAT S'POSSED TO MEAN!" Ryuji shouted. "I can be plenty subtle."

"Clearly." Ren said with sarcasm.

"Whatever man, look I got shit to do so I gotta go." Ryuji said then ended the call. He sat down on a bench by the wall and sighed deeply. He knew Ren was right but he just... he can't let something else not go his way in his life. Nearly everything else has gone to shit, this was his only salvation.

A tear hit the floor. Then another. Then another before he finally dried his eyes. He can't show weakness. He's skull of the phantom thieves and he doesn't show weakness in front of anybody. Not some perverted Olympic medalist. Not his friends and definitely not his mother. She didn't need him as more of a burden, especially not now. He had to work hard, he had to make money, he needed to do something.

"What the hell am I gonna do?" Ryuji questioned absently. "Why does the universe seem to hate me right now? If I tell the others I'll just burden them too and they don't need my problems weighing them down." He reasoned.

He sighed deeply yet again and got ready to leave the gym.  
\----------

"So does Makoto know about this or this another one of your secret plan alterations." Futaba asked smugly.

"That depends on if you're going to tell her or not." Ren said.

"I see... what will you give me?" Futaba asked, seeing a chance to gain something.

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Give you huh? I am leader remember, I could just order you not to tell."

"Or what, you'll fire me? Unlikely." Futaba said shaking her head. "Cmon, give me your best offer."

"Best offer? Alright. You don't tell and I don't let Mona into your cosplay drawer." Ren said looking towards her closet.

Futaba shot up and moved to block her closet door. "You wouldn't dare!! I was just joking RenRen. Futaba pleaded. "Why do you wanna keep this a secret anyway?" She asked, trying to change the subject away from their cat using her cosplay outfits to sharpern it's claws.

"I have my reasons. So can you do it or not?" Ren asked her.

"Can I do it? Please, remember who you're talking to. I've hacked into the Pentagon's secure server to stream anime. Doing this would be a cakewalk." Futaba boasted, sitting down.

"I expected no less. I thought you'd need to gain access to them with a direct link or something." Ren said

"I'll need access to their server but I need that to erase the security footage anyway so it's not an issue assuming Ann's part of the plan doesn't encounter any issues." Futaba said, now spinning in her chair out of boredom.

"Just remember to make sure the balcony security Camera's are recording." Ren reminded her.

"Yeah I heard you. Does Yusuke know that he doesn't need to make a calling card this time?" She questioned.

"I'm about to tell him over lunch. He apparently wanted to discuss something about stealing a sculpture. I should get going now." Ren said walking to her door. "You want me to make you anything before I head out?" He asked her.

"Nah I'm good for now, have fun." Futaba said, turning to her moniters.

"I will. Oh and uh, you better start locking that closet, gremlin. I'd hate for Mona to shed fur on your clothes" He said before leaving her room.

Futaba just hissed at him.  
\----------

Ann's face lit up when she saw Ren, he didn't attend her shoots as much as they'd both like anymore but he'd been more busy than he used to be which meant their schedules often clashed. But when he could come she'd always put her her love into her poses knowing he was watching. And that's what happened now, seeing him had renewed her energy after a long day and her smile was more genuine now, being for him instead of the cameras.

When the shoot ended she practically jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly. "I thought you weren't able to make it today?" She said curiously.

"I finished early today. Thought I'd pick you up. I also brought crepes" He said holding up two of her favourite treats in her his hand, one for both of them.

Her eyes bulged when she saw them. "You know me so well." She said grabbing one. "I love you."

"Are you talking to me or the crepe?" Ren said with a giggle.

Ann narrowed her eyes at him. "A girl can love two things." She said defensively which earned a laugh from him.

"So how'd the shoot go?" He asked her, taking her free hand in his.

"I think it went good, it was suuuper long though. But it went better after you showed up." She answered, looking at him.

"I have that much effect on you?" He said, raising an eyebrow with slight amusement.

"I can't help it. It's not my fault!!" She said pouting a little which made him laugh again. Then she let out an eep when he kissed her cheek. "Anyway, enough about me. I wanna hear how your day was." She said trying to change the subject, blushing a little.

"Eh, it wasn't anything special. Ran into Hifumi earlier actually, it was nice to catch up with her. You remember Hifumi right? My shogo teacher." Ren said.

"Oh yeah I remember her. She went to kosei with Yusuke right?" She asked, which he nodded at. "Anything else happen today?" She followed up with.

"Not really no. Well..." He said then shook his head brushing away the thought.

"What's on your mind Ren? You know you can tell me." Ann said looking at him, concerned.

"It's nothing really. Honestly it's fine." Ren said, looking away from her eyes trying to to drop the subject.

"Fine then." They walked in silence for a minute or two before she spoke again. "It's about what happened with Ryuji isn't it?"

She always seemed to know exactly what he was thinking or when he was hiding something. "Yeah." He simply said.

"You should talk to him Ren. You know how he is, if something is troubling him, he won't talk about it until it nearly kills him. Besides you're his best friend. If anybody can help him right now it's you. Plus I bet he regrets reacting how he did." She said to him.

He smiled. "Yeah, you're right. I'll see if I can find him later. Thanks Ann, me and him can both be too stubborn for our own good sometimes I guess." Which was ironic considering how easily he folded to her.

"But first, I've been modelling all day and my lips feel lonely." She teased. 

"I think I can fix that." He said with a smug smile, then kissed her.  
\----------

Ryuji was walking to the protein lovers gym. It was late but he'd paid to be able to use it at night. He'd been visiting alot recently.

"Thought I'd find you here." He heard, then looked up to see Ren leaning against a wall, with Mona in his bag on his shoulder.

"Oh. Hey man. I didn't expect to see you here. You here to train?" He asked, hoping he wasn't here to discipline him.

"I'm here to talk to you actually." He responded.

Ryuji sighed. "I'm real sorry for what I said the other day. I've just... I've been going through alot recently." 

"I know, everybody's noticed. Makoto has been really worried about you, is it anything you need to talk about?" Ren asked.

"Thanks but I don't really want to talk about it." Ryuji responded.

Ren raised an eyebrow. Ryuji hated that damm eyebrow, somehow it always made him spill whatever secrets he had been keeping.

Ryuji sighed deeply before speaking. "It's my mom. Last month she uh, she was diagnosed with cancer." 

Ren's jaw dropped. "Shit man. I, I'm so sorry dude. We're all here for you. Do... do you know how far along it is?" He asked.

"No she hasn't told me. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Ryuji responded with.

"You don't have to apologise for that but I do have to ask, why didn't you.?" Ren said 

"Because you don't need my problems, you all got plenty of your own already and you guys don't need mine on top of yours." Ryuji said, looking down.

Ren walked forward, took Ryuji's head in his hands and looked him in eyes. "Ryuji, you are my brother in every way but blood and name. If that means I have to help you shoulder your burdens then that's something I'll glady do. The same goes for everyone else."

Ryuji smiled. "That means alot more than you think RenRen. I'm such an idiot huh?"

"Occasionally, yes you can be one. It's getting dark, do you wanna train now? I'm up for it" Ren inquired.

"Actually, I think I'm just gonna head home now. Thanks for the talk man." Ryuji said turning around.

"Anytime. Oh! By the way, team meeting next week." Ren said.

"I'll be there." Ryuiji said with a smile.


	4. Rob you of everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heist goes down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so a bit of a time jump to the day of the actual heist. I was running out of ideas to fill time before the heist so I decided to just get to it. Plus I figured three chapters of setup is a bit much. Anyway please enjoy!!

"Comms check, infiltration team sign off."

"Check"  
"Check"  
"Check"  
"Check"

"Joker, Panther, Fox and Noir are coming in clear, Queen comms check."

"Check"

"Queen and Oracle are standing by. Everybody is coming in clear, heist is a go."

Oracle flicked her eyes over to her other laptop, which was plastered with technical readouts, blueprints and the GPS location of each member. Fox and Noir were stealing exhibits that they found to have expensive value but could still be easily transported. Joker was drawing security away from Panther who had the task of infiltrating the control room.

"Remember guys, the museum runs on an internal system so I can't access any of their systems until Panther gets to the control room and patches me in so be careful." She reminded them.

"The extra security needed for the event should clear out most of the other floors, just stay clear of the first floor. That's where the event is happening, don't worry about attendees security should keep them on the first floor." Makoto chimed in.

"Fox and Noir, you both need to be quick. When Haru's sudden absence is noted they may search the other floors for her. I advise you prioritise the pieces we talked about in the meeting first." Joker said, peering round a corner. Two security guards were walking down the hall facing away from him. He quickly ran across the hall way and let out a quick, taunting laugh that caught their attention.

"What was that? Who's there?" One of them said while flashing a light in his direction. Joker merely let out another taunting laugh, this time louder. He heard them start to run in his direction and he waited a second before running himself, to make sure they would see his coat tails briefly when he turned another corner. He heard one call something into his radio as they continued to chase him. He kept running through the halls and evading until someone spoke on his radio.

"Some of the security guards are leaving the control room. There's still a couple but I can handle them." Panther said. As much as he hated the idea of Ann potentially getting hurt, he knew she was capable.

"We've noticed less guards as well, keep it up Joker." Noir said. He turned another corner to see a very bulky security guard running towards him. He turned around to see the other two quickly approaching. 

Shit, he needed a way out. It's too early to be caught and he can't use the vents or he'd put Panther at risk of being discovered. He was gonna have to use one after all. He reached into a pouch on his belt and brought out a smoke bomb. He threw it at the ground and crouched to his knees.

The three guards started panicking, frantically trying to find him in the smoke, it was easy for him to slip by them. He ran into a big hall and looked for hiding spots, he quickly realised the vest place was above him, in the rafters. He took out his grapling hook and swung it up, tugging it a few times to make sure it was secure and could take his weight. When he was confident it could take his weight he pulled himself up into the rafters and ran accross into the shadow.

"This is Joker, I was spotted. Security should be freaking out about now, Fox and Noir be careful. Panther you should hurry, what's your status?" He said over his comms. There was a moment of silence. "Panther come in. What's your status?" More silence, he was growing concerned now.

"Sorry, a few guards gave me trouble. I'm in the control room. Patching Oracle in now." She said as she took out the USB drive Oracle had given her and plugged it into one of the computers.

"Good work Panther, I've got access to all their systems now. Let's see what's going on." Oracle said flicking through the security cameras. "The event is still going on but some people are beginning to notice something is up. Oh and what's this, some guards have noticed the stolen pieces. Fox, Noir I suggest you guys leave, you too Panther."

"Noir, get changed back into your dress and get back to the event it's better if you're seen there if things go down." Queen said.

"Alright, I'll help Fox get these pieces in position for the pickup then I'll go." Noir responded.

Oracle felt a jerk as the van started moving, being driven by Queen to the back entrance. She tapped away at her keyboard and disabled the security cameras so they wouldn't catch anything. After that she accessed the security footage from the museum's secure server, attempting to find the footage of Ohya breaking in. Having no such luck after a quick comb through the footage she decided to just erase all of it.

"Okay, security camera footage has been erased. Ohya should be clear now."

She looked up as the van's side door slid open and saw Fox and Panther who were now loading their take into the van. "Fox and Panther are ready to go, they're just loading everything into the van." Oracle updated the others and saw the security level on the museum go way up as guards now swarmed the hallways and exhibit rooms. "Okay the security has gotten tight, the police will be here soon. Joker, what's your status?" Oracle asked.

"I'm still in the rafters, apparently they've never heard of looking up. What's Noir's status?" He asked. Oracle flicked through the security cameras until she found the ones with a view of the event. She looked through them until she saw Haru in a beautiful purple and pink princess like dress. "She's fine, she's talking to her father, it doesn't seem like they're suspicious of her." The Van door slamed shut as Panther and Fox claimed in the van. "Queen, Panther, Fox and Oracle are ready to leave, last chance to come with us Joker." Queen said.

"Just go, I still gotta send the calling card. Oracle do you have a read on Skull's position yet?" Joker asked.

"Not yet no. Do we still go ahead with the calling card?" She asked worrily as Queen started driving.

"Yeah, we're gonna have to trust that he's in position. Keep an eye on me, you remember the plan right?" Joker said getting ready to jump to another rafter.

"Plan? What plan?" Panther asked, chiming in.  
"Yeah I remember, but the police are gonna be here soon so make it quick." Oracle said, answering his concern and ignoring Panthers.

"Then let the show begin." Joker said, smirking. He jumped to another rafter then another so that he landed on the far side of security guards accross the room when he jumped down. He let out a taunting laugh as he looked the security guards. "You'll never catch me!" He taunted before running.

He ran down the hallways and across exhibits, he even pushed a few over in an atrempt to slow down or lose some of his pursuers.

He noticed as he neared the large entrance hall the shutters were being closed, by Oracle, to stop the guards from going around to cut him off. He took a quick glance behind him and saw maybe a dozen security guards chasing him. He smirked as he stepped onto the guardrail of the second floor blacony and tossed his grappling hook above him, towards one of the grand chandeliers above the entrance hall. Not having enough time to check if it would hold his weight he pushed off the guardrail.

The chandelier swung but kept his weight. As he climbed up he noticed that all the shutters had come down, sealing all ways out of the entrance hall, all except for the stairs that is. He stood tall as he clambered atop the chandelier as lights turned on turned to look at him. "Enjoying the event?" He shouted rhetorically down, looking at all the people now looking up at him. He let out another taunting laugh, then said "If you wanna see a real event then follow me." He said before leaping to another chandelier and another before leaping off to the third floor.

As expected people were hesitant to follow but eventually some did, emboldened by his promise of a 'real event' the rest then followed. The amount of people coming up the stairs slowed down the security guards which gave him time to get out onto the exterior balcony and prepare himself.

As the balcony flooded with people, he smirked at them from his standing position on the guardrail. And hearing police sirens below him and several officers give orders to hold fire, he began his speech.

"I am the Phantom Thief called Joker. And let all here bare witness to this calling card. When you stand before us hide not your evils. For we despise distorted desires and we will take from you that which you hold most dear. We will reveal your hidden sins to the world, your whole truth bared naked for all to see! For we are the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and we will expose your sins without fail!" 

The moment he finished, the balcony lights flickered on and projected the phantom thief symbol on to one of the large financial buildings across the Street, thanks to Oracle. He turned and admired her handywork for a second before dashing across the guardrail the the right side of the balcony, which had a clear way into the alley. The only issue is he was to high up to make the jump down unharmed, he looked for the sewer grate in the alley and saw it was closed. "Dammit Skull, where are you?" He muttered under his breath. 

"Freeze! Don't move!" He heard the police shout as they shone their lights and aimed their guns at him. He turned to look at the street, which was now closed off and littered with police cars. He looked behind him onto the balcony and saw several security guards moving through the crowd towards him. He looked back down at the alley and saw the sewer grate had now been removed from underneath. He reached into his coat and pulled out three smoke bombs. "See ya!" He shouted as he threw one behind him onto the balcony, and one on either side of the alley so no one could see him. With their lines of sight to him blocked he jumped.  
\----------

Detective Goro Akechi briskly walked through the station and towards the commissioners office. He'd been asked to attend a quick meeting, no doubt about the phantom thieves most recent heist yesterday.

As he approached the door to the commissioners office, he took a sip of his coffee, sighed and opened the door.

"Ah Akechi, sit down please detective." The commissioner said, without looking up at the file he was reading. Goro sat as he asked.

"Is this about the heist last night because if so I was on my way to investigate the scene when you asked to see me." Goro said.

The commissioner looked up at him, giving him an annoyed look. "Actually it's about the entire case detective. When Goro Akechi, the second Ace Detective took on the Phantom Thief case I thought it would be simple. I thought it would be an open and shut case and you assured me that you would catch them."

"With respect, the phantom thieves are elusive commissioner. I've not been able to find anything about them other than their codenames." Goro said.

"Codenames which they revealed on their website! You have not discovered anything about them and last night that phantom thief made a mockery of us!" The commissioner said angrily. "You know more about the phantom thieves and their heists than anyone else in this building and you still couldn't determine that they were targeting the museum."

"That's not my fault, there was no link between heists that I could find and-"  
"That you could find." The commissioner interrupted. "That's the problem, for some reason you cannot find anything. So I've asked for some assistance from another detective."

"Another detective? I'm the detective prince, I doubt there's another detective in Japan who's better than me." Akechi boasted.

"Actually you're the second detective prince. The first detective prince is taking over your case, she arrives tomorrow." The commissioner said, standing.

"You're giving the case to her!? This is my case, you can't do that!" Akechi protested.

"Actually detective, I can. Until the detective arrives, the museum is not to be touched. Dismissed detective." The commissioner said.

Akechi left his office without a word, seething with anger. "Dammit. I didn't think this would happen so soon." His thoughts turned towards the case. He was no longer in charge of it, instead it had been given to his predecessor, the first detective prince. 

Naoto Shirogane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sorry if the heist itself was not what you were expecting. Its my first time writing anything like this so sorry if it's underwhelming. If you have any thoughts I'd love to hear them in the comments.


	5. Beauty and Vice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The thieves recover from the heist and Naoto arrives in Tokyo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, so I didn't say at the beginning about Naoto becoming part of the story and she wasn't supposed to be originally but I needed a way to up the stakes and create tension, who better to do that than the first detective prince herself. I haven't decided if other p4 characters are coming in as well, it depends where the story goes and how I feel. Anyway, please enjoy!!

PTCrow: You should have told me about the last heist.

PthiefJoker: Why? You said the less you knew the better.

PTCrow: Your calling card, it was too showey, you made too much of a scene.

PthiefJoker: You know we've been planning to go public for a while now, plus you know I love theatrics.

PTCrow: Which is the problem, you're a phantom thief not a street performer. Not only did you reveal yourself before the police could catch you but you broadcast your big speech and now the internet and the public are talking about you. The commissioner threw a fit.

PthiefJoker: I see your point but by going public like we did we've made people think twice about their actions. Who knows how many people we've saved from potential bad situations.

PTCrow: I can't work with potential bad situations Joker. I need solid proof, evidence and confessions, you know that. As far as the police are concerned you taunted them and they're responding in kind.

PthiefJoker: What do you mean? Did something happen?

PTCrow: I can't cover for you anymore, the Commissioner said I didn't produce enough leads so the case has been reassigned to a 'better detective'.

PthiefJoker: Who?

PTCrow: Naoto Shirogane.

PthiefJoker: That name sounds familiar.

PTCrow: It should, she's the original detective prince. In terms of cases she has an almost spotless record and she's been assigned the phantom thief case.

PthiefJoker: Ah, that's not good. Thanks for the heads up. What about your other investigations?

PTCrow: I'm still in charge of them, I'll see them through to the end and have them charged. I'm still an consultant on the phantom thief case but I can't cover your tracks anymore, you need to be more careful. I'll do what I can for you but every move I make is being scrutinised right now.

PthiefJoker: I appreciate it, if it's too risky we can cut contact. We made plans incase your tie to us is descovered remember?

PTCrow: I remember. No theatrics for a while, I'll update you if she has suspects.

PthiefJoker: Noted and thanks, I'll update the others about all of this. Good luck.

Ren made a mental note of the conversation and logged out. "The original detective prince huh" he said to himself. He sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He opened his browser and searched about Naoto Shirogane, thinking it wise to do advance research before updating the others.

She'd solved alot of cases, some minor, some big but there was one in particular that caught his eye. It was about a series of murders in a small town called Inaba. She, along with some other unnamed consultants had descovered and caught the culprit when everyone else, including the police thought the culprit had already been caught. As Ren was reading about her and her cases, he realised that she was a bigger deal than he thought and alot more dangerous than he first assumed.

He took out his phone and logged back in to the phan site, opening its private message feature and tapped on the phantom thief group chat. Normally he wouldn't use the phansite for this but if Shirogane managed to break through Futaba's defenses then he couldn't have anything incriminating directly on his phone.

PthiefJoker: Our man on the inside has updated me, there's been a troublesome development.

It took a minute or two for them all to come online, as it wasn't a simple as opening a phone and sending a message as it usually was.

OraclePT: What's the sitch?

Futaba was the first to respond, as he expected. He saw that everyone else's icons change to represent them being online and present in the chat.

PthiefJoker: Our case has been assigned to someone else. Naoto Shirogane.

ptQueen: Naoto Shirogane?! This is bad.

PThiefSkull: Naoto Shirogane? Who's that?

FoxthePT: Yes, I too am not familiar with this person.

PhantomNoir: She's the original detective prince isn't she? I used to greatly admire her work.

PthiefJoker: That's right and she's dangerous. For now I'm putting into action contingency plan 14. It's not serious yet but we need to be careful.

ThiefPanther: Right. Can someone remind me what number 14 is? All our contingencies kinda blend together for me.

OraclePT: 14 is just to remove any direct connections to the phantom thieves. Remove any thief equipment from your house and wipe anything incriminating off your phone.

PthiefJoker: I'm calling an emergency meeting today, we'll discuss it in person.

OraclePT: Give me your phones when you get here and I'll start wiping them.

FoxthePT: There is something I must do first, I will come tomorrow instead.

PthiefJoker: The rest of you bring any thief equipment with you, that includes your outfits. I'll take them somewhere safe, see you soon guys.

Ren logged out and began collecting his own gear, most of it was together but he had a few pieces separate. He took his thief outfit and placed it in a bag with his equipment. He then decided to head to Futaba's room so she could start on his phone and to make sure, her thief equipment was collected. It was best to get both of them sorted before the meeting, if possible.  
\----------

A white Canvas. Still he had no inspiration. He'd been getting prices for all the pieces they stole all day, it took longer than he thought it would but it was always better to be thorough. He was nearly finished when Ren messaged them about this Naoto person.

He wanted to attend the meeting but he had to finish getting prices first and he had to fulfil his self imposed daily painting quota. However that quota wasn't being met at all at the moment with this artists block. 

In the past, he got rid of most of his artist blocks by talking it through with his friends and eventually getting inspired. But he couldn't do that now, they were busy. He looked at the clock on the wall, it was nearly half past one. He still had time, if he wanted he could gather his equipment and head to Leblanc. Maybe it's for the best.

Yusuke set his paintbrush aside and began collecting together his thief equipment. Thief outfit, smokebombs, paintbombs, a grappling hook and his Katana. He didn't have his gun, he'd left it in the van after the heist. He needed to find his calling card drafts as well. "Now where did I put them?" He pondered. "In here perhaps?" He asked as he opened a cupboard door.

"Ah here they are." He said, finding the drafts sitting on an old box and collected them. His eye caught something shining in the corner. He turned to look at it and saw a certain lobster sculpture, he forgot he took it. His expression changed as he realised something "that's it!" He said audibly. He took the sculpture and moved it to a better position, so that he could see it clearly see it from his easel.

He lifted his brush once more and began painting the sculpture, he was getting rid of it soon so he needed to finish this today. Already it was taking shape, "yes, this is going to be a beautiful piece."  
\----------

"An ace detective huh? I bet you she's no match for us, we've been doing this for three years and we've not been caught yet, we've barely even had a close call" Ryuji said to the three girls in the attic with him.

"Yes, because we've had someone on the inside who's been covering for us. But now they can't cover for us anymore." Makoto refuted, before going back to her studies.

"Not to mention the detective. She's called an ace detective for a reason. Why do you think he put contingency plan 14 in action, he's just being careful." Haru added, taking a break from her tea.

"I guess, still though I think he worries too much, like how is she gonna check our phones. Wiping them seems a bit excessive." Ryuji complained.

"Speaking of, do you guys know how Futaba goes about wiping our phones. I've got some stuff that I'd like to remain private." She said, leaning back on Ren's bed, Mona curled in her lap.

"Private huh? What kinda private stuff?" Ryuji asked, a small smile popping up on his face.

"Like the private kind!" Ann said back, stroking Mona.

"Is it secret lover stuff between you and RenRen?" Ryuji teased with a smirk.

"Oh boy, here we go." Makoto said shaking her head as Haru blushed.

"Huh? Well, I..." Ann's face grew red at the thought of Futaba seeing some of the... intimate texts and pictures that she and Ren sent each other. "That's none of your business!" She shouted at him.

"I was just teasing, no need to shout at me." Ryuji said defensively, holding his hands in front of him.

"She's right Ryuji. How Ann and Ren choose to spend their free time is up to them and they deserve privacy. How they choose to spice up their bedroom love life is their business not ours." Haru said, scolding Ryuji turning to see a very thankful Ann. "Even if we might want to read some of the conversations they have." She then added.

"Huh?" Ann nearly choked when Haru said that last bit. Her red face immediately returned. "I... I don't know what you mean." Ann said back.

"Of course you know. The images couples send each other can be very intimate and private. The texts they send each other, an extension of their feelings. It happens when they feel... lonely" Haru teased.

At that Ann became as red as a tomato and she shrunk down in the bed as she covered her face with her hands. "St.. Stop please." She merely muttered, incredibly embarrassed.

"What's wrong? She hit a nerve? And why are you that embarrassed, in your other outfit you got nearly nothing to hide. It doesn't leave much to the imagination." Ryuji teased her.

"That's enough Ryuji." Makoto said, much to the relief of Ann who now was back to a mostly normal shade of red.

"Wha- but Haru was teasing her more than me." He protested as Haru giggled, taking a sip of her tea.

"I was merely pointing out that the sexts that you and Ren send each other are none of Ryuji's business." Haru said with a smile as Makoto gave her a look. "I know you're curious about it too Mako chan." She added then smiled more as Makoto withdrew suddenly.

"That. Isn't entirely untrue." She meekly said.

"Even you!?" Ann exclaimed, seeing Makoto avert her gaze. "Futaba's not gonna see them right?" She asked, finally yielding.

"Sure, keep telling yourself that." Ryuji said, going back to playing his gamestation portable.

Ann huffed at him then went back to cuddling Mona. Oh lord how she hoped Futaba didn't see them.

"What am I not gonna see now?" She heard as she saw Futaba coming up the stairs. "Your phones are all clean now by the way." She said putting their phones on the table as the others grabbed their phones back. Ann more quickly than the others.

"Thanks Futaba. Oh and by the way-" Makoto said but was interupted by Ann who stood up and nearly shouted to Futaba.

"The sexts me and Ren send each other are not for your eyes Futaba!" Ann interupted coming to the conclusion that Futaba, being the curious gremlin she was had absolutely seen them.

Futaba took a few steps back in shock and had a look of bewilderment on her face. "Wha... You guys send sexts? Telling us is brave but I don't really want to know Ann." She said.

Ann's look of embarrassment turned to one of absolute horror. She turned around and flew herself onto the bed and began screaming into a pillow.  
\----------

Naoto sighed as she looked up at the ceiling. Whoever was staying above her, they were making quite the racket. She'd arrived in Tokyo early and had come here for some piece and quiet to begin looking over the case and have a coffee. Speaking of coffee, she needed a refill. She looked over to the counter then remembered how the owner, or who she thought was the owner had stepped out. She could see through the window that he was now talking to some raven haired boy in glasses.

No matter, she'd get a refill when he returned. She turned her attention back to her files. "The phantom thieves of hearts." She quietly said to herself. "This might be more difficult than I thought." She'd been told the second ace detective, Goro Akechi was originally on the case so she expected alot more evidence. But there was nearly none, either this Akechi was a bad detective or there was something more going on.

She looked back at her notebook. She'd seen the recording of the phantom thief Joker's speech so many times she nearly had it memorised. She knew what he looked like, roughly at least. The video was too low quality to make out any specific details like eye colour but she had a rough profile. But he wasn't the only one she had a profile for.

She'd taken a witness report from some of the security guards that were found unconscious in the control room. They had described their assailant to her. She had blonde hair in pigtails and blue eyes, she was also apparently wearing a bright red catsuit and mask. She was clearly foreign, assuming their report was correct. It shouldn't be hard to find a suspect but she hadn't seen anyone who fit that description yet.

She heard the bell ring as the man and the younger boy stepped inside. The younger boy met her eye then headed upstairs without saying a word to either of them. "Sorry about me stepping out, I had some business I needed to discuss." The older man said, Sakura she think he said his name was.

"You don't have to apologise, I understand. Although I would appreciate a refill." She said.

"Coming right up." He said. After he had refilled her coffee she thanked him and he went back behind the counter, sat down and began reading some fashion magazine. Why he was reading that she had no idea. Her face tilted a little so she could see the cover, she had to admit reading fashion magazines was a secret passtime of hers, but she'd never tell anyone.

She was drawn away from her thoughts when she caught a glimpse of the model on the front cover. A model who had blonde hair in pigtails and blue eyes. She squinted a little trying to see a name with no luck. "A model huh?" She made a mental note to go and look at fashion magazines later, she'd just found someone who got the description of a phantom thief. Perhaps this wasn't going to be so hard after all.


	6. The path of Strife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naoto investigates the thieves further and the thieves debate their course of action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's late, I admittedly had a little trouble with actually writing this chapter. Please forgive any mistakes, I was in a rush to get this chapter out. Please enjoy!

Naoto sat at the table with her laptop open and case notes spread across the table. Initially she'd booked a hotel room but when the others found out she was going to be in tokyo for a case, Rise had insisted she use her apartment instead of a hotel. Naoto took some convincing to accept her charity but Rise's constant insistence won in the end.

She'd been asked by the commissioner to determine a motive before anything else. She thought it would have been simpler to determine suspects and then a motive however the commissioner argued that their first priority was determining a potential next heist target from their past reasons. She did try to explain that getting a suspect first would assist with discovering the motive but he didn't listen.

She looked through the detailed police report of the phantom thieves first heist and use of a calling card, the recipient being Olympic medalist Suguru Kamoshida. The report detailed items taken, crimescene reports, evidence and interviews. Most of it was irrelevant and inconsequential but one thing in particular intrigued her. His gold medal, it was the only thing other than cash that was taken. 

They thieves didn't take any valuables or any other personal items, that combined with the personalised calling card led Naoto to believe that the driving force behind the theft was a personal reason. They didn't choose him at random, he was their target for a reason. She read the transcript of the calling card, it referred to him as an 'utter bastard of lust.' Reading the report she had, it said an investigation about the calling card's claims was underway however around two years ago it was swept under the rug.

She turned to her laptop and opened her browser, if the report didn't say anything about Kamoshida being an 'utter bastard of lust' then perhaps the internet would. "Lust, why lust? Was he a stalker perhaps? Or maybe something more..." She pondered, as she typed in the words 'Kamoshida' followed by 'bastard of lust.' There were a fair amount of hits, reading around the results she got she descivered that about a week after the heist, several different families and women sued him. Several months after that though, all were suddenly dismissed without reason. "How unusual, it seems that the phantom thieves aren't the only ones with secrets." She said to no one in particular.

"I wonder if they targeted Kamoshido because one of the thieves was a victim of Kamoshida's lust. As a result of the heist Kamoshiso was sued and his apparent lust gained publicity online. I wonder?" She said to herself, constructing a theory. She picked up the reports of the next three heists, each one resulted in it's victim's hidden crimes being exposed. "That must be their goal, to expose hidden crimes. Or at least, it was." She said thinking about the two most recent heists. "So what changed?"

Ann Takamaki, perhaps she could get something out of her. She hadn't had much time to investigate her on the record but she'd bought a fashion magazine the other day that had an exposé interview with her. It talked about alot of things about her but one thing in particular caught her eye. In the interview she talked about the most important people in her life, the most prominent of which was Ren Amimiya, her boyfriend of 3 years. If Ann Takamaki was indeed a phantom thief, chances are he was one too.

She typed Ren's name into the search engine. It didn't result in much, a few social media accounts and some news articles about an assault case in some small remote town. Apparently this kid, Ren had assaulted someone in his old town, which forced him to move to Tokyo on probation. If he assaulted someone the becoming a phantom thief wasn't extremely far fetched, but it would have been a violation of his probation. Furthermore, based on photos of him on various social media he looked like the phantom thief Joker based on the footage from the calling card video. Looking further through his social media she managed to create a quick profile on him. He was convicted of assault around 3 years ago, afterwhich he was sent to Tokyo then something personal happened to him and was then adopted by Sojiro Sakura. "Sojiro Sakura. That's the owner of Cafe Leblanc." She said to herself. "I think I'm going to have some coffee tomorrow."  
\----------

Ren sat on the couch in a private room in Club Velvet, he was leaning forward and was thinking about nothing in particular while waiting for the other two to arrive. He was waiting on Morgana and Akechi, it was one of the few occasions in which they all needed to talk in person. The other thieves weren't involved as, not only were most of them too busy but Ren was their leader and spoke on their behalf. As Akechi and Morgana weren't 'full' members he couldn't order them to do things, and so sometimes spoke with them about certain events and advice on how to proceed forward when significant events happened. Events like an ace detective being assigned to their case and potentially having some of them as suspects ready.

The door opened as a fairly tall, black haired, blue eyed man walked in and nodded to Ren in greeting. Morgana, the closet thing the phantom thieves had to a godfather figure. He managed the things Ren didn't have time to manage himself, things like fencing their stolen loot and managing their rumour network. He was basically their manager if he had to give him an official title, the thieves aren't the only group he does this for but they were the first and are his main focus.

Morgana sat on the couch on the left of Ren. There were three couches, with Ren always sitting on the middle one. After sitting down Morgana didn't say a word and neither did Ren, they weren't here to talk pleasantries. As if on cue the door opened again and Akechi walked in. "Let's get to business gentlemen. We're not here to talk pleasantries." He said as he was sitting down.

Morgana spoke up now, "I've moved the take from the last heist to a secure space, I'm part way through cross checking my item list with yours to check if everything is present. We'll know if anything is missing by this time tomorrow." He reported.

"Good, I want to sell them as soon as we can while making as little a trace as possible." Ren commented.

"Make sure to sell everything separately. People won't be suspicious of you that way." Akechi added. "Speaking of suspicions, the people watching me have stopped I believe. But if Shirogane uncovers anything and grows suspicious of me, it'll be hard to prove my innocence to her." He then said.

"Should it come to it, do you have emergency plans? A place to go if your connection is uncovered?" Morgana asked.

"I have familiarised myself with the phantom thief contingency plans that Ren and Makoto made, the ones that are relevant to me I have nearly memorised." Akechi said. "If I have a chance to flee before I'm caught I will take it, but I'll need advance warning." 

"Advance warning." Ren repeated to himself. "If you keep informing us it'll put you at risk, I wonder if we could plant a bug." He pondered. "To do that we'd have to meet her, perhaps Futaba could pull the fangirl act."

"I think she'd probably see through that. And I think she'd notice a bug on her phone, she'll be familiar with them and know the signs. But if we can find out where she's staying, then maybe we bug that place." Morgana said.

"I agree, the act of bugging her phone is risky and would give us more information than we need. It would take alot of time to sort through it. But setting up bugs in her place of residence would allow us to listen to any conversations she has. Plus any case developments I'll be told, I'm still a consultant detective on the case after all, I'm just not in charge of it." Akechi said, agreeing with him.

"If you're sure you can keep us informed then alright." Ren said before adding "I'll find out where she lives, it shouldn't take to long."

"Yousaid she was at Leblanc right? If she is suspicious of you, it would be better to send someone else. Makoto perhaps, she has experience tailing people." Morgana urged.

Ren nodded and leant back. "Even if she is, I've placed the myself and the others under the effects of contingency plan 14. Investigating our homes or phones will turn up nothing for them. I suggest you do the same." He said giving a nod to Akechi, who simply nodded back.

"Even if my connection to you is descovered, I will not allow myself to be arrested. If it comes to it I can disappear for a month or two. I would like to finish the Madarame and Kaneshiro cases though, their investigations are still ongoing but are moving slowly. I will make sure that the links thry both have to their mutual business partner is revealed one way or another. We know the evidence is there, I just need time to find it." Akechi said.

Ren nodded. "While we're here gentlemen, perhaps it's time to go over the logistics and re-evaluate things again. We can't afford loose ends, especially not now." Ren said to them.

They both nodded and the three continued to talk and recheck thinhs for another two hours before leaving. They couldn't afford loose ends, for the detective to find. Not anymore.  
\----------

Naoto approached Leblanc, it was open which was good, she opened the door and was greeted with the smell of coffee. There was no other customers and the man behind the counter, Ren Amimiya was reading a book. She saw him look up at her and sigh before greeting her.

"Welcome, what can I get you?" He asked her, putting his book down.

"Just the house blend please." Naoto said sitting down, she saw there was a black cat sleeping on the counter. 

"You're not allergic are you?" He asked her, whilw beginning the coffee making process.

"Oh no I'm not. But it is unusual that a place that serves food and beverage has an animal in the serving area. I wonder what health inspectors would say." She said raising an eyebrow.

"Oh don't worry about that, I take great care to make sure the counter is throuroughly cleaned. And I have special permission for him." Ren said.

"Oh? Special permission, how come?" Naoto asked, intrigued. Even if he didn't have permission, she wasn't going to report it. There weren't any complaints about it yet, at least to her knowledge do there was no reason to create one.

"It's medical, he's my uh... he's my therapy cat." He said hesitantly. "I have bad anxiety attacks sometimes, he helps calm me down. I can show you the document if you don't believe me detective." He said, while occasionally tending to the coffee.

"You know who I am?" Naoto said, surprised.

"Course I do. It's not everyday the original ace detective comes to your cafe." Ren said, a slight smirk on his lips.

"I'm surprised. Alot of people forget about me in favour of that new one, Akechi. I don't mind though, I don't do this for fame." Naoto said.

"What do you do this for?" He asked her, pouring the coffee into a mug.

"I do it to bring criminals to justice and to reveal the truth." Naoto said.

"You sound kinda similar to what that one phantom thief said in that video. Here's your coffee." He said and placed her coffee in front of her.

"Thank you. Tell me about yourself, I heard you're dating Ann Takamaki. Did I hear right?" Naoto questioned.

"You did hear right. But I don't see how that's any of your business." Ren shot back, folding his arms.

"I'm simply curious is all. How'd you end up working here?" She questioned again.

"The owner is my guardian." He shot back again.

"He's your guardian huh? What about your parents what happened to them?" She questioned, this one was for her own satisfaction as she didn't know what led to Sakura adopting him.

Ren tensed and looked down. "I wish I knew detective." He started shaking as he remembered coming home with his friends after his probation had been lifted. They found his home trashed with signs of a struggle, worse still was that no one had heard or seen anything. They did try to find them but after a month or two, Futaba could find nothing online so he was forced to accept they were gone. Worse still was that they all knew exactly who'd done it and why. It was around that time the anxiety attacks started.

Naoto looked at him as he was remembering what she assumed were bad memories, he was shaking and breathing faster. She saw Mona wake up and suddenly jump to him, sitting on his shoulder and rested his paws over his heart. The cat was well trained. Ren brought his hands up to start petting the cat, to calm his nerves. "Sorry but I'd rather not talk more about that."

"Of course my apologies. I wasn't trying to bring up painful memories for you. The coffee was quite delicious I should be going." She did want to questioned him further but she'd nearly set off an anxiety attack in him so he should rest first. Plus she felt like he's more intuitive and clever than she first assumed.

She retrieved her items and bowed at him before leaving. Ren breathed a sigh of relief, she was gone which meant she couldn't question him further, for now at least. He didn't like trying to purposefully set off an anxiety attack but it turned out to be worth it. "She was digging for information about me, trying to create a profile I'd imagine." He spoke out loud, knowing Futaba had bugs in Leblanc and had most likely seen and heard all of that. "If she's suspicious of me and Ann it won't be long before the rest of you are suspects as well. We should talk, if you're not doing anything important come over." He said. A minute later he received a message from Futaba. On my way, it simply said.

When Futaba got there they talked about alot of things, mainly about the bug they were planning to plant on Shirogane's place. Ren smiled as he and Futaba both cuddled Mona. The game was on.


	7. Forbidden Wisdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto tails Naoto to her abode. Naoto asks for help from a friend. The case against Kunikazu Okumera goes public and Futaba does a little Investigation of Naoto's old 'Investigation Team.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. Okay so I'm considering making updates once weekly instead of twice so starting from now I'll only update on Thursday's. Hopefully that means I can avoid rushing chapters and getting burned out like what happened with the last chapter.  
> I also came up with another idea for a fanfic but I'm focusing on this for now, if this fanfic does okay then I might start writing it. But anyway, please enjoy!

Makoto tailed her at a distance, she'd gotten alot better at following people discretely than she used to be. With this in mind following Naoto Shirogane was more difficult than she was used to, she'd definitely considered the possibility that the detective knew she was being tailed which was why she was further away from her than Makoto wanted to be, but there was less of a chance to be seen that way.

Naoto was walking faster than she usually did and taking a longer route back, one with more corners. She didn't know exactly when she realised she had someone tailing her but she had an almost sixth sense for it. Losing a tail however, she did not have a sixth sense for, she couldn't seem to escape this one, they were persistent. She'd tried to sneak glances whenever turned a corner and knew that it was a woman stalking her but that was all she knew.

Makoto had activated a running app on her phone earlier, so that when Naoto arrived at her residence, she could see the exact route they took to get there. She was glad she had the foresight because there was no way that Makoto could remember the route they took while following her and trying to remain unseen. She was taking extra effort to blend in with the crowd, especially after she saw the detective look her way a few times when turning corners.

Naoto thought about who might want to stalk her, it was possible that it was some ordinary woman but she doubted it. She never usually has stalkers so what's special about this time? Tokyo, she was in tokyo and she was investigating some of the countries most wanted criminals, that was the difference. She quickened her pace again, to a near run, she didn't know why they were following her, perhaps they intended to kidnap her or harm her. She couldn't let either happen to her so she had to hurry back. Rise's place was safe with alot of security if she could get back there, she would be safe. It was too long to walk so she had to take the subway but maybe she'd loose the woman there. She turned left towards the subway station and headed down the stairs.

Naoto turned suddenly towards the subway. "Shit." Makoto exclaimed to herself, "I can't lose her." Makoto chased after Naoto picking up her pace, desperately trying to keep her in view. She lost her in the crowd several trains had just come in, but which one did she get on? Makoto turned around frantically searching for her with no luck. If she lost Naoto and didn't find where she lived they'd have to come up with a new plan. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the sounds around her. "Okay, Focus like Ren does." She said closing her eyes for a moment. Naoto was wearing a blue cap and jacket, if she looked specifically for those then she'd find her. She opened her eyes again and turned to her right, looking for a blue cap. Nothing. She turned to her left looking for it. There, she saw Shirogane's cap, she pushed through the crowd to get a better look trying to confirm it, then saw a part of her jacket, it was her. She managed to board just before the doors closed and focused on Shirogane, she was on the phone, could she be calling the police? She closed her eyes and tried to listen to her conversation she heard mere glimpses of it. She was talking to someone called Yu and she was talking about help. Makoto sighed heavily, she almost didn't find her in time, that was close.

Hopefully she'd lost the stalker, she'd moved around in the crowd in an effort to lose her before she boarder her train but if she didn't she needed a security measure. Which was why she called Yu, if her stalker was still following her if she was mid conversation they would be less likely to make a move against her. "Naoto? You still there?" Yu asked her.

"Yes I'm still here." Yu had offered to help with the case, while he couldn't officially she wasn't entirely opposed to having him help unofficially. "I appreciate the offer for assistance but officially you can't help. However I am staying at your girlfriend's place so if you choose to drop by perhaps you'll be able to lend your mind to help me." She said, subtlety hinting.

"Yeah. Rise's not in Tokyo right now but I can't be blamed if I don't know that and drop by her place anyway. I'll leave in the morning see you soon Unless you need me to stay on the line?" He asked.

"No it's okay, the train is pulling in soon. It's not too far to Rise's place from the station, if I'm quick I should be okay. I'll see you tomorrow Yu." She said, hanging up. Not long now.

Makoto quickly memorised the names, she was talking to someone named Yu and mentioned someone named Rise. That sounded familiar. The train came to a stop and the doors opened, she followed Naoto for another block or two before she entered a tall building. Finally she'd found her place, or rather her friend Rise's place. Makoto opened her phone so she could take down the address she was at. "Okay, now to get this information to the others." She said to herself, then turned back to the station.  
\----------

Yu had been packing his bags for Tokyo, he was staying in Inaba right now with his Uncle and Nanako. He wanted to make sure he had enough clothes for an extended stay if he needed them.

He walked downstairs, he needed to tell Nanako and Ryoto that he was leaving tomorrow. He came to the bottom of the stairs and saw that Nanako was watching TV and Ryoto was reading the newspaper like always. "Hey, I'm heading to Tokyo tomorrow, Naoto needs help on a case." He said.

"That's very sudden but alright thanks for telling me." Ryoto said before going back to his newspaper.

"You're leaving? But you only arrived like a week ago" Nanako said in protest. "Will you come back after?"

"Of course I will." He said which comforted her. Then he sat down and began to watch TV with her. Ryoto sat forward suddenly, reading something that seemed to catch his attention.

"Kunikazu Okumera? Hey change to the news for a bit would you?" He said, it wasn't really a request. Nanako picked up the remote and changed the channel. Yu read the headline, Kunikazu Okumera the ex CEO of Big Bang Burger was being sued. There was a big legal case against him and it had just gone public. In addition it had also come out that the museum event held not to long ago, the one hijacked by the phantom thieves, was funded by and him. 

"Apparently this guy was exploiting his workers, stealing money and lying to the rest of the company about it. In addition to a whole host of other bad stuff he's done, I just feel sorry for his daughter. Anyway you can change the channel back now, I just wanted to see that piece." His uncle said.

"Okumera huh. Didn't he receive a calling card from the thieves, back when he still was part of the company? Interesting." He said quietly to himself. Perhaps it was worth discussing this with Naoto tomorrow.  
\----------

Futaba typed away at her keyboard. Makoto had told all the details and names she uncovered to the others. They would have met in person but Haru's father had forbid her from leaving with the case against him going public so the thieves were all video chating. Makoto had texted the info to Futaba first before they all began chatting so she could do some searching in advance. They currently were talking about nothing interesting, not to Futaba at least. 

Yu was one of the names Makoto had given her, the other being Rise who also apparently owned the place where she was staying. Futaba quickly checked she had certain pages open turned her attention back to the call. She waited until they finished their current conversation, they were talking about university. "Okay so let's get to business." She said when they finished. "Makoto sent me the address she followed Shirogane to, I'm sending pictures of the place in the chat now." She said doing so.

"Looks just like every other building to me, is there anything special about it?" Ryuji asked. 

"Yeah, the places there are expensive. Like celebrity expensive, there's definitely no way she could afford it on a detective's salary." Futaba answered. 

"So it's likely her friend Rise does own the place, like Mako chan said." Haru confirmed. 

"Her friend Rise... Celebrity expensive... Risette?" Ren mumbled. 

"Risette? You mean the Idol?" Ann wondered. "Didn't she say recently in an interview that she was in a relationship?" 

Futaba typed away at her keyboard, searching for the interview in question. It didn't take long, to find it. "Here. She said that she's been in a long term relationship since she was a teenager. She doesn't name him in the interview but gossip news sites say the rumor is that it's someone called Yu Narukami." She said, informing the others. 

"Yu Narukami, and Shirogane was talking to someone called Yu. We've found the connection, what's our play now? We still need to set a bug, remember." Yusuke said. 

"Bugging a celebrities place, it would have alot of security, we probably wouldn't even be able to get in." Makoto pondered. "Bugging her phone maybe the better option after all." 

"Either way is risky. Perhaps it would be better to do it to her friend instead of her but we should come up with a backup. Futaba can you find out more about Shirogane's friends?" Ren asked. 

"Sure. What's your plan?" She asked in return. 

"If we can figure out who she's close to we can use that against her. If she thinks her friends are at risk, she may back down with the investigation. In the meantime we should try think of a way to get a bug on her phone." Ren ordered. 

"We're going to hurt her friends?" Ann said, concerned. "They've not done anything though." 

"No, that's not what we do, we're not going to hurt them but she doesn't know that." He said smugly. 

Yusuke spoke up now, changing the topic. "It's been a while since we've done phansite requests, should we start looking?" 

"If you want to look then go for it, but I've got Mishima on the lookout for anyone that is in immediate risk." Ren said. 

Gradually the conversation turned casual again. It'd been a while since they'd just talked like this, about something that wasn't the phantom thieves. It was nice, they all thought. To pretend that they were just normal people for one night and not the seven most wanted people in the country. It was rarer these days than it used to be, and deep down they all knew that it was something they needed. A reprieve from the thrills and threat of being phantom thieves, a glimpse into a normal life.


	8. Beautiful betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yu arrives in tokyo and has an interesting encounter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. Not much to say this time. Cutting down to one chapter a week instead of two has helped me alot so I'm going to stick with it for now. I started writing the first chapter of my other project I mentioned previously don't be surprised if you see it go live soon.

Yu exited the station and stepped onto the street. He saw lot's of people walking, busy roads and alot of advertisements. It hadn't changed much since he last moved away only the advertisements were different everything else was pretty much the same. "Tokyo, it hasn't changed a bit." Yu said as he walked forward.

As he stepped out into the light of day his stomach grumbled. "Man I'm hungry." He said, he could just eat at Rise's place but he didn't want to wait that long for food and neither did his stomach. "If I remember right, there's an underground mall near here. I'll head there." He said walking down the steps.

He reached the bottom and paused as he looked around then saw the entrance and walked towards it. Heading in, the mall was busy today so he hoped there would be some food somewhere. Walking through he saw several stores, none of which sold food. Then he got to a small convenience store, maybe they had something. He headed inside.

Yu was right the small convenience store did have something he could have, but he'd decided to wait until he was properly outside at the very least. He was already in the underground mall so Yu decided to look around a bit, maybe he could find a gift for Rise or Nanako.

Yu came to a fashion store. He'd already bought Nanako a nice ring from another jewellery store here, it was pretty expensive. He would've bought one for Rise aswell but he already had one with him. He smiled as he touched the small box in his pocket, he didn't know if he was going to see her while he was in Tokyo but he'd been keeping this ring for a while. He'd first got it when he was talking with his uncle and Nanako one night about Rise, he'd mentioned how he wanted to marry her one day and needed to start saving for a ring. That was when Ryotaro had gotten up and showed him the ring he'd given to his wife when they got engaged. Then he gave it to him. He'd argued with him but both his uncle and Nanako wanted him to keep it, aparently they had already discussed it and made their minds up about it. He was thankful, it was a beautiful ring. He kept it with him at all times now, just in case.

"Have you seen Takamaki's new photoshoot?" Suddenly a voice interupted his thoughts. It belonged to a girl. 

"Yeah, it's so hot! She's so sexy, I wish I had a girl like her." A boy's voice this time. He turned and saw two high school students in different uniforms, both of which were schools he wasn't familiar with.

"She was my Senpai last year, her and her boyfriend." The girl said.

"His name's Ren right? I don't know what she sees in him." The boy said, sounding a little heartbroken.

"I do. I gave him a love letter last year, I didn't sign my name though. He was one of the most popular guys in school last year, but despite that he was utterly devoted Takamaki. He's head over heels for her, honestly it's quite cute." The girl said, also sounding slightly heartbroken.

He turned his attention away from the conversation and to the magazine rack in front of him. On it's cover was a woman with blonde pigtails, the cover said that inside the magazine was a 'look into Ann Takamaki's personal life.' So this girl was the one those students were talking about, she reminded him somewhat of Rise, she was very pretty. "Her boyfriend's called Ren huh." He didn't know why buy something resonated in him when he heard that name. Like there was a distant connection or something. He dismissed it.

"Oh well. Naoto's waiting for me, I should hurry." Yu said walking away. "I can get Rise something another time. Besides she's probably already been here before." Just then his phone buzzed. It was a message from Naoto saying she was at a cafe in Yongen Jaya and to meet up there.

\----------

It was small from the looks of the outside and it was located in a back alley. "Cafe Leblanc huh. Well I should head in." Yu said as he opened the door. His assumption was right, it was small but it was also quaint. The atmosphere invoked nostalgia for a memory that didn't exist yet resonated deeply. He took a deep breath and smiled as the strong smell of coffee graced him. He walked forward and sat at the countertop.

There was no one behind the countertop, maybe they were upstairs. There was another customer, a woman with blonde hair in pigtails maybe he could strike up a conversation with her while he waited for the barrista to it return. "You're Ann Takamaki right?" He said, turning to her.

"Hm? Yeah that's me, is there anything I can help you with?" She answered back, looking a little hesitant.

"Oh not really, I only know your name through passing. Really I'm just trying to make conversation. Do you know where the barrista is?" Yu said.

"Oh Boss will be back in a minute he's just talking with a friend." She answered. Yu tilted his head curiously.

"Boss? You work here?" He questioned.

"Oh no, we all call him Boss. He prefers it over his name." She said with a smile.

Who's we? Maybe he was reading too much into that. "Prefers it over his name. That's kinda unusual." Yu commented. "Speaking of names, mine is Yu Narukami." He said, introducing himself.

"Yu Narukami huh?" This time she tilted her head. "You're Risette's boyfriend."

Yu was taken aback. It was rare for someone to know that, especially since Rise hadn't named him yet. "I, Yeah I am. How'd you know?" He asked intrigued.

"I'm an admirer of hers." She simply replied with a coy smile. "We all are actually."

Yu was confused. "What?"

"We're all big fans of you and Rise, your detective friend as well. Shirogane right?" Ann said, sipping her coffee.

"Hang on, I'm confused." Yu said. He definitely wasn't reading too much into it when she said we.

"We're fans of all your friends actually. Hanamura, Satonaka, Amagi, even tatsumi." She said, still sipping her coffee. Yu was in shock, Takamaki had just named his closet friends.

"Anyway, I should go. I have a date in 10 minutes." She stopped before exiting. "Good luck on the investigation." She said quietly before leaving.

Yu was frozen. He was in complete shock. This model that he first heard about maybe 10 minutes ago had just name dropped his closet friends and knew why he was in Tokyo. If he didn't know better he'd think she was trying to intimidate or threaten him. Actually, maybe that was what she was doing, but what reason would she have for doing so? Maybe Naoto could help him understand.

Yu stood up and exited. He decided to wait for Naoto outside. When she didn't show after nearly ten minutes he called her. "Yu, where are you? Are you having trouble getting here?" Naoto said.

"I'm already here. At Cafe Leblanc like you asked me in your text." Yu said confused.

"Text? I didn't send you any text. How do you know I go to Leblanc?" Naoto said back, now more confused than he.

"What? You didn't send a text? Well that doesn't matter right now." He said chastising himself a little. "There was a woman here, Ann Takamaki. She named all the others, I think it was a threat of some kind but why would a model threaten us?" He said, recounting what happened.

"She what? Yu you need to get here now, we can talk once you arrive." Naoto said quickly.

"Right, I'm on my way." Yu said then headed to the station. Less than an hour he'd been in Tokyo and already he'd received a flash text, learned about an upcoming model, met said model and was threatened by that model. This day was becoming alot more eventful than he thought it would be.  
\----------

Ren smiled hearing Ann's recount of what happened. Yu had arrived when they expected him too and luring him to Leblanc by copying Naoto's phone signature worked as they thought it would. Futaba had suggested the plan but it was actually akechi which was the key to it, he asked to see Naoto late last night where he planted a special device Futaba had made. It allowed her to intercept and rewrite any texts she sent from her place. It hadbeen Ann's job to meet him and name drop his friends, originally it was supposed to be Ren doing it but Naoto told Akechi that Ann was a suspect and he told that to Ren so this morning they decided Ann was to go instead.

"I was so nervous Ren. You know how bad I am at acting, plus I have a really bad poker face." Ann said, which interupted his thoughts.

"You did great, me and Futaba were listening to the whole thing." He assured her, putting his hand on hers and giving a smile.

"I still don't feel right threatening his friends. Yu seemed like a good person." Ann said, withdrawing a little.

"I don't like it either but detective shirogane is dangerous and is our biggest threat right now. If we're caught the past three years have been for nothing." Ren responded with.

"What happens if we are caught Ren? What happens if Shirogane finds out who we all are. We'll get arrested and then sent to prison or worse and I wouldn't get to see you again." Ann began to frantically say.

Ren took her hands in his and hushed her. "We have plans incase that happens. I promise you Ann, as long as I breathe we'll be okay. If we're caught we'll all run somewhere, hawaii maybe." Ren reassured her, kissing one of her hands.

"Hawaii... I remember our date there. It was beautiful, the sunset over the ocean. You said you loved me and you promised to take me there again." Ann remembered fondly.

"I remember. I meant what I said, I will take you there again sometime." Ren smiled as they gazed into each others eyes, lost in their love of each other and the beauty of memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, shorter chapter today but I don't want to rush things. I also was conflicted about making Akechi going to Naoto's place, I decided to leave it offscreen because I felt that it detracted from the impact of what I had.


	9. Teammates. Friends.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yu and Naoto discuss the phantom thieves apparent threat against their friends. They also discuss how the phantom thieves managed to fake a message from Naoto and in process make a revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so first off, I posted the first chapter of my other fic. It's a Persona 3/4/5 crossover and I have plans for it. Anyway I hope this chapter is okay, I had a bit of writers block while writing it.

Yu opened the door and quickly stepped in, then looked in the hallway one more time before closing the door. Naoto was in the main room, with her laptop open and notes strewn all over the table. "It's me."

Naoto stood up and approached him with a smile. "Welcome to Tokyo. It's good to see you Yu." She said warmly.

"It's good to see you too Naoto." He said taking his coat off. "Are you hungry? I can make something if you want." He offered.

"Thank you but no, I'm not hungry. I've been focusing on the case. I think I'm close to finding something but I'm not sure what." Naoto said, with a little pent up frustration.

"Allright then let's start, get me up to speed. I already read the notes about their heists that you sent me. Recap your suspects for me, that might help." Yu said sitting down.

"Alright. We know from their online presence that there are eight members. They go by codenames. Joker, Skull, Panther, Fox, Queen, Oracle, Noir and Crow. In their latest heist, at the museum there was a witness who saw one of them. He said she was in a red leather catsuit, with blonde hair in pigtails and a cat mask." Naoto said.

"Blonde hair in pigtails? Like the model I met." Yu said.

"Ann Takamaki." Naoto said nodding her head. "It's a safe bet to say she's the phantom thief the guard saw. From that I suspect that her boyfriend Ren Amimaya is also a phantom thief. He first met her when he started his second year of high school here, after being forced to relocate to Tokyo for a year as part of his probation." Naoto continued.

"Probation? She's dating a criminal?" Yu said, curiously.

"He has an assault charge. The case report says he assaulted someone late one night in his old town, doesn't say who though." Naoto said, answering.

"Apparently they adore each other. I heard two students talking about them at the underground mall. They were both pretty well liked it seems." Yu commented.

"I see. It's not unexpected, Ren ended up being their best student." Naoyo said thoughtfully, Yu looked at her in disbelief.  
"It's true, he has the highest exam scores in the schools in years. He looks to be the perfect student. But that's what's troubling me about him." Naoto said.

"He doesn't seem like the kind of kid to assault someone." Yu said absently.

"Exactly, how did someone like him get an assault charge in the first place. Either it's a false charge which I think is unlikely..." 

"Or it's a façade." Yu said clocking in to her train of thought. "Yeah, I agree with you that it's likely he's a phantom thief too. They're apparently nearly insperable so unless she's a good actor there's no way he doesn't know."

"Yes, that's not the only weird thing about him though." Naoto said turning to her laptop and pulling up some pages.

"Oh?"

"As part of his probation the Tokyo police secretly observed him. But after a certain date the observation stops completely with no reason given." Naoto said.

"Well that is weird... That date? Isn't that around the time of their bank heist?" Yu noticed.

"Yes, it is. A heist that's resulted into an investigation of potential mafia ties." Naoto said.

"Mafia ties? He's connected to the mafia?" Yu asked, now very curious.

"Apparently. The investigation is ongoing though." Naoto sighed. "There's something around that, something I can't see, a piece of the puzzle I haven't picked up."

Yu leaned back in his chair when he suddenly remembered something. "Oh by the way I have a message for you from Kanji. He says to text him once in a while."

Naoto shuffled in her seat, clearly uncomfortable. "He did?"

"Look I know you guys had that fight but you can't ignore him, it's only gonna cause another fight. You need to talk to him about it." Yu said to her.

"Yeah I uh, I guess you're right. I don't know how you and Rise do it." She said, sighing.

"Hey, speaking of texts. How did I get this one?" He asked, taking out his phone and showing her the message he received from her telling him to go to Leblanc. Naoto took out her phone as well and showed him a message that she'd sent about five minutes prior. The one she sent was asking if he was alright, the one he'd received told him to go to Leblanc.

"Hmmm. I wonder." She said at seeing this. She typed another message to him and sent it, they waited about a minute before he received it, just as she'd typed it. "Hmm. Well it's clear that somehow the phantom thieves sent you that, but how'd they send it from my number?" Naoto pondered.

They both sat and thought for a bit, sorting through possibility in their minds. Eventually Yu spoke up. "Is it possible that they changed your message before I received it?"

"Maybe, but the only way they could is if they had their own satellite or some sort of interference device here. And they definitely don't have a satellite." Naoto said standing up and beginning to search around. Yu did the same.

After several minutes of searching Yu found something. It looked like a small WiFi router and was stuck to the backside of a bookshelf. "Here, I think this is it." He gave it a once over and found a simple off switch. He flicked it. "And that's that problem solved."

"But now we have to ask the question of how it got here? This is a very secure building so they can't have broken in." Naoto said walking over.

"Has anyone come over recently?" Yu asked.

"Only another detective. Goro Akechi, he was in charge of the phantom thief case before me, he's now just a co sultant detective on the case. He came over to talk about the case and talk theories but it didn't result in any progress." Naoto said.

"It must have been him then. And if it was him, then he's working with the phantom thieves." Yu said.

Naoto turned suddenly, went to her laptop and started looking through things quickly. "Yu I think that's it. Yes that fits, I can't believe I missed it. I just checked Ren's probation file, Goro Akechi was the detective assigned to observe him. The phantom thief report files, which he also wrote starts to lose detail around their bank heist." Naoto said, looking reinvigorated. 

"If he started working with the phantom thieves around then, it explains why they all lost detail. He was covering their tracks and eliminating Ren as a suspect as much as possible." Yu commented. 

"I know that asking for your help would prove fruitful Yu. There are still alot of dots to connect however." Naoto said thankfully.

"So now we have 3 phantom thieves. Let's work on finding out the rest. What progress do you have on them?" Yu asked.

"Not much however I haven't looked into any of the others yet." Naoto said. "Perhaps I should now however. They can't conceal themselves forever and they threatened our friends so now it's personal."

Yu stepped beside her. "They can't hide forever, especially when we're on the case."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I know this is another short chapter and I'm really sorry about that. As I said before I've had some writers block and I'm also trying to find a good direction for some other plot points. I really hope you guys understand and again im sorry it's so short. I'm not going to abandon this fic it just might take a bit to get properly going again. Anyway thanks for reading xxx.


	10. Thine own justice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akechi gets word of the developments. Naoto investigates her suspects and Ren kicks the phantom thieves into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for not uploading on my schedule but it's not working for me so for now I'm not gonna have a schedule, I'll still try to upload chapter fairly regularly though. Anyway, I'm trying to keep writing even when I've not got inspiration, please enjoy!

Ren: We think you're compromised.

Akechi: I told you that your bugging plan was too risky. But you didn't listen to me.

Ren: Trust me, have I given you reason to doubt me?

Akechi: If you tipped me into your plans I would be less doubtful.

Ren: Have faith Akechi, this is going as I wanted it too even if it's sooner than I expected.

Akechi: As you expected?

Ren: She has no hard evidence of your involvement, only conclusions and theories. Her accusation against you has got the beginning and the end but no body, nothing solid.

Akechi: I see your point but what's the plan?

Ren: When Shirogane goes to the commissioner make sure you are there, reinforce how ridiculous and preposterous her claims are. Later go to the commissioner alone, convince him to temporarily transfer you to save trouble for him. Ask for it to be Inaba.

Akechi: Inaba? That backwater town her silver haired friend is from?

Ren: Not just him, their closet friends live in Inaba. Once you're on your way there I'll send you some files on them Futaba made.

Akechi: Now I see. If Shirogane knows I'm working with you and if she knows that I'm in Inaba. She'll think her friends are at risk, it'll put pressure on her. I keep being surprised by your plans Ren. What about my investigations?

Ren: If they're going as well as you've told me they'll be transfered to someone capable. You need to make sure of it, if you know of anyone capable to handle them recommend them, those investigations cannot fall through under any circumstances. The connections they will reveal to the police are vital to our heist on our ultimate target.

Akechi: Yes you've made that quite clear previously, I still think that there is a simpler way of doing it. You have a record of both Madarame's and Kaneshiro's ties to him, you copied it during your heists. You and the others could make those public or hand them in to the authorities.

Ren: The police have to find the ties themselves. It shouldn't be too much longer now. Besides, the thieves are going to very busy soon... Shirogane's most likely figured out several of us by now, so I think its time she realises how far our reach extends.

Akechi: That sounds devious, I think I might like this part. As usual I'll delete this conversation, it's always a pleasure working with you.  
\----------

Naoto took a step back from the board to look at it again. There were pictures of locations and suspects, all connected by red-tape.

At the centre was a screenshot of the Joker video. From that picture, red tape led upwards to a picture of Ren Amimiya.

A copy of the security guards witness testimony on the left of the board had red tape leading towards a picture from one of Ann Takamaki's shoots. There was also red tape connecting that picture and Ren's.

On the right of the board was a picture of the phantom thief investigation file. Red tape from that led to a picture of Goro Akechi which led to pictures of the Kaneshiro and Madarame investigations. From the both of them was tape connected to the centre portrait.

It was a good start but it needed more. There were alot of pieces she hadn't found yet and still many unknown factors. Her eyes were drawn to Ren Amimiya, he fit the profile of Joker, he was likely their leader. She was tailing him today, Leblanc was a good place to start.

Naoto put on her other coat so she was less conspicuous than if she was wearing her blue one. Yu going with her, two pairs of eyes are better than one after all. He was already watching Leblanc, he'd left early to find a good watching spot.

When Naoto arrived Yu was looking bored. "Bored already?" She asked as she approached him. Yu perked up at hearing Naoto.

"Nah, I'm just kinda tired. I was talking with Rise most of last night." Yu said yawning and moving over on the bench so she could sit, which she did. "I've not seen Amimaya enter so I'm pretty sure he's already inside." Yu said, informing her.

Naoto sighed, she had a hunch this was going to be a long stakeout. She eyes the entrance to Leblanc, she didn't see anyone watching them back, not that there was any reason for them to. She leant back, allowing herself to relax. "What were you talking about?" She asked Yu, making small talk.

Yu took a deep breath. "Well we started just talking about whats happening, with both the case and her work. Then we started talking about moving in together, full time I mean." Yu said.

"What kind of places are you looking at?" Naoto asked, still watching Leblanc.

"Just an apartment. I don't make enough money to buy a house yet and Rise's still saving. She's been in the public eye alot longer than she or her manager thought she'd be which has helped, but they don't know how longer she'll remain there. As a result we've both decided to look into long term income solutions, she wants something more stable than what she's currently earning as an Idol." Yu explained.

"Working with police isn't long term?" Naoto said curiously, raising an eyebrow. "It's worked fine for me."

"Not for me no, not if we wanna live here in Tokyo. She still wants to stay in the city, for now at least." Yu said. "I'll think of something, teaching maybe or journalism." Yu sat back, sighed heavily and smiled. "I'm gonna propose." He muttered to himself, then he remembered he was not alone.

Naoto was smiling at him. "Uh, did I... say that out loud?" He asked, knowing the answer. Naoto nodded and leant forward now.

"Where and when?" She asked, now having something to focus on that peaked her intrest. Yu sighed.

"I meant to keep that secret, please don't tell her, or Yosuke, or Chie or any of the others!" Yu begged.

"Don't worry, I won't tell." Naoto said smirking.

"Thank you Naoto, I was worried-"

"If you tell me the details and let me see the ring." She interrupted. Yu sighed again, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, wrapped in something. He opened the box and took out the ring.

It was beautiful, not too expensive or overcrowded with gems while being pretty and intricate enough to maintain the beauty of companionship and love. "Where did you get it?" She asked.

"Uncle Dojima gave it to me, it was his wife's. When I let it slip that I was planning for a proposal while he and Nanako were in the room, they both insisted I take it. I keep it on me, just in case"

"In case of what?" She asked him.

"In case I need to improvise one day. You never know what's around the corner." Yu answered.

Naoto chuckled. "Fair enough... Marriage huh?" Naoto's mood sobered. Yu gave her a sideward glance, picking up on her mood change.

"I... tried talking with Kanji last night. I think it made things worse..." Naoto said quietly. Yu turned to her fully.

"What happened?" He asked. Naoto sighed before answering.

"I tried to fix our fight but neither of us apologised. He thinks his idea is better but I know that mine is better. I don't understand that man sometimes." Naoto said, almost tearfully.

"I'm sure that Kanji thinks the same thing about you sometimes." Yu took a breath. "Let me give you some advice. When you fight with someone you love you always apologise, no matter if you're right or wrong. When you do it you don't apologise for being right or wrong, you apologise that you ended up fighting about it." Yu told her.

"I see. I'm an ace detective yet the language of intimacy and love still eludes me." She resigned then sighed.

"You'll get it eventually." Yu said smilling but something moved in the corner of his eye. Naoto apparently saw it too as she was also looking at the source. Ren had left Leblanc. 

"Alright you know what to do, stay here and keep watching Leblanc while I tail him." Naoto said and stood up.

"Naoto." She heard him say. "Good luck."

She smiled and nodded.  
\----------

Ren waited for Mishima. He'd rather that this was a personal al visit, a chance to catch up. However it was not. He'd underestimed Shirogane, she'd descovered too much too quickly and he refused to be boxed in by her.

"Sorry I kept you waiting man. It's good to see you alright." Mishima said approaching him.

"It's okay, you don't have to apologise. It's good to see you too." Ren said in greeting.

Mishima sat down at the table. "You said this wasn't a personal call. Is this about your other job?" He asked.

Ren nodded. "Yes, that's right. Since our last... escapade we've attracted a certain type of attention. I thought I had it handled but I need help."

Mishima rested his head on his fists and drew his fingers over his mouth in consideration. "I see. I'd heard rumours that a famous detective was sighted in the city, they're here for you guys then?" Mishima asked. Ren nodded. "How can I help?"

"First I need you to spread some rumours online, do it anonymously but make sure they get attention." Ren said.

"I can do that. What are the rumors?" Mishima asked.

"Note these down, make sure the they're exactly what I say. The first, crimes committed by Madarame and Kaneshiro were being covered up by the police. The second, Naoto Shirogane has been tasked to catch the phantom thieves so that they can't reveal the crimes. The third, make sure to only start spreading this one when I tell you to, Goro Akechi was transferred to stop him from discovering these crimes himself. You got all that?" Ren asked him, making sure he'd noted it all.

"Yep, I'm pretty sure I did." Mishima said, finishing typing on his phone. "Was there anything else you need me to do?" He asked.

"Yes actually, we're gonna do something soon. An official statement addressing the rumours when they gain traction." Ren said. "We've written a statement already but I think it needs revision, I'd like you to revise it."

Mishima nodded. "Alright, but why me?"

"You're our PR director remember?' Ren simply said. "Plus you usually have a better creative eye for things like this than me or the others." Ren said, holding a USB stick. "This has the statement on it, alter and change it as you want but keep the core idea and purpose."

Mishima took the stick and nodded. "I'll start on it tomorrow."

"Great, I apologise but I can't stay. I've got more business calls to make today. I'll cover the payments though. I'll message you later." Ren said, putting money on the table and leaving, as Mishima waved.

Ren didn't like leaving suddenly, he felt like he was ditching him but he needed to update his network. They needed to understand the situation and what to do if things went wrong.  
\----------

Naoto Shirogane's phantom thief case diary. 

First tailing:

Ren Amimiya- tailing notes.

Leblanc- work (presumably)

Clinic in Yongen Jaya- presumed appointment.

Diner on central street- unknown (meeting?)

Crossroads bar in Shinjuku- unknown (presumed meeting)

Fortune teller in Shinkuku- seemed to be friends

Untouchable on central street (gun model shop)- unknown (are the thieves weapons fake or is the owner selling real ones? Investigate further.)

Church in Kanda- played shogi with a friend

Beef bowl on central street- met with politician Toranusuke Yoshida (no good Tora, corrupt or just friends?)

Back to Leblanc with a woman- seemed close

Was talking with another woman afterwards- they also seemed close

Didn't turn up as much as I'd wanted it to, although now I have more potential leads to investigate. Need to work on identifying unknowns, Yu and I are too familiar to the thieves. Yosuke perhaps? No matter, I'm making good progress. Yu being here has helped alot, even if it's just to share the pressure with. It's a shame the others are too busy to help. If the Investigation Team were back together, the Phantom Thieves would be busted for sure. Actually, that's not a bad idea...


	11. Wreak Havoc

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naoto receives some information from an interested party, Ren and Ann rushed to hospital and Rise returns to Tokyo

Naoto was tired, it'd been a long day and half of it was spent at the police station. She was updating the official report, she'd been keeping personal case notes and needed to spend the day with the official one. She was now sitting on the train back, Yu had texted saying he'd made dinner but she was looking forward to a shower more than anything else. She actually felt kinda sleepy, but that's when her phone pinged. She unlocked her phone but the message was from an unkown number.

******: Naoto Shirogane?

Naoto: Who is this?

******: We are Medjed. We can help you.

Naoto: Medjed? The terrorist hacker organisation? How can you help me?

******: We know you're investigating the Phantom Thieves, we have information for you.

Naoto: From Medjed? Why would you give me information? Why should I accept it?

******: We have an intrest in their downfall. Consider it an anonymous tip.

Naoto:... Alright. I'm hesitant but I'm willing to hear it. What's this information?

******: About a year and a half ago a new phantom thief appeared on the Phansite. Codename "Violet." They didn't appear much. But six months after Violet first appeared on the phansite, all references to them were erased along with their posts.

Violet? Another Phantom Thief, but why didn't she find that before? And where did they go? And why did the Phantom Thieves erase them form the phansite? She had so many questions.

Naoto: Another Phantom Thief? You're saying that the others tried to erase them? Why would they do that?

******: We don't know, but you're the detective. We're sure you'll figure it out.

Naoto: How did you get this information? I have more questions.

******: We are unseen. We will eliminate evil.

All texts Naoto sent after that have no recipient. Shit. Naoto took a breath. Violet huh. If the phantom thieves tried to erase them then something must have happened. This could be just the lead she needed to make a breakthrough. Her mind was racing with theories and deductions. Unlike Yu she did not restrain herself with her deductions, he preferred to wait until he couldn't gather any more clues then make a deduction however Naoto made a deduction everytime she got a clue, that's where they differed. Personally, that's why Naoto thought he hadn't made detective yet.

Naoto decided that she wouldn't inform Yu about the tip just yet. She wanted to look into it herself first then once she knew it was good, they could look into it together. Naoto yawned. She'd been tired recently, this investigation was tougher on her than all her other ones but she had a feeling it would be finished soon. She couldn't wait for that day, the day that Detecrive Prince Naoto Shirogane bests the phantom thieves.  
\----------

Ren rushed through the hospital hallway, following Ann. They had to ask directions a couple times from some of the nurses but they could see the room now. Ren was conscious of every breath as they got closer and closer. 

They opened the door and Ann gasped. The saw Mama Sakamato sleeping in the hospital bed with all sorts of stuff attached to her, Ryuji was also sleeping but he was on the chair that was in the room, he looked exhausted too.

"Should we wake him?" Ann asked Ren.

"No, let him sleep. Probably been worrying himself half to death, he could use a good rest."

"If he needs a good rest then a chair isn't gonna be very good." She refuted.

"We'll stay for a bit then. Wake him up then if he hasn't already, then I think we should bring him back to our place. He'll be stubborn but he'll need the company." Ren said.

"Yeah okay. This'll be alot for him to process, you're right he'll need support." Ann agreed.

Ann walked up to the hospital bed and placed a hand on Mama Sakamato's arm while Ren sat on the other chair in the room. They talked quietly so as to not wake Ryuji, Ren decided to call Futaba to ask if she could get something of Ryuji's things.

Ren stood and looked out the window, it was raining and was getting late. "Yo RenRen what's up?" Futaba greeted from the other side of the line.

"Hi 'taba, look something happened. Don't worry everything's okay but I need you to do something for me." Ren said, trying not to make her panic, as she sometimes did did.

"Why, what's happened?" Futaba asked, concerned.

Ren looked back at Mama Sakamato and the sleeping Ryuji. "I'll explain later. You doing anything important right now?"

"Nothing urgent, I'm with Makoto right now ." Futaba answered, she sounded anxious.

"Alright then, I need you guys to head to Leblanc to get the key to Ann and mine's place from Sojiro, I'll let him know you're coming. In our place by the door is a spare key to Ryuji's place I need you to go there and get some stuff, just overnight supplies is fine. There might be some mess in the kitchen that might need to be cleaned up a bit too but you don't have to worry about that." Ren explained carefully.

"Alright, is he okay?" Futaba asked anxiously.

"He's fine yes. It's his mother, she's been hospitalised and he's gonna stay with us tonight." Ren said, trying not say too much. It wasn't his to tell after all.

"Alright then, we'll head there now." Futaba said.

"Thanks sis, I appreciate it." Ren said hanging up. Then he texted sojiro to let him know to give Futaba the spare key when she asked for it. Then he heard Ryuji shuffling.

"What? Oh, hey guys." Ryuji said sleepily, he sounded exhausted. "How long have you two been here?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. 

"About ten minutes." Ann answered, approaching him. "How are you holding up Ryuji?" She asked sympathetically.

"Me? I'm fine. It's her you need to worry about." Ryuji said, looking down and gesturing towards his mother.

"I..." Ann looked down. "You must be hungry, do you want anything? There's vending machines here, I can get you something if you want it's not any-" She said trying to change the subject before Ryuji interupted her.

"No thanks, I'm... I'm not hungry." Ryuji stood up to stretch his legs. He looked Ren and Ann who were both looking at him. "What? I'm okay guys really." He insisted.

"Ryuji, me and Ann decided that you're going to stay at our place tonight, we'll take care of food and stuff don't worry." Ren said.

"What I don't get a say. I don't want to freeload off of you guys, I'll be fine by myself." Ryuji said, trying to convince himself more than them.

"It's not freeloading Ryuji. We're offering because you're out friend and you need support." Ann said, moving to beside Ren.

"I don't need support! I can support myself. It's-"

"Ryuji! You don't have to shout." Ren interupted.

Ryuji didn't realise that he had shouted that last part. He didn't expect to and he didn't know why. God he was so confused about this all. Suddenly he felt something on his shoulder as he saw Ren with his hand outstretched and touching his shoulder. "It's okay Ryuji." He simply said.

Ryuji wiped his eyes that were watering. He leaned back onto the wall, slumped onto the floor and hung his head down. "Thanks guys. I... I don't want to be alone right now." Ren and Ann joined him on the floor on either side of him. "I was helping her with dinner and she just... collapsed. I was so scared I didn't know what to do."

"Futaba and Makoto are heading to your place they're gonna bring some of your stuff for you." Ren said. He saw that Ryuji looked like he wanted to say something."What is it? If you need to say something we're here."

Ryuji hesitated. "I just... if us being phantom thieves goes wrong I don't know what I'd do. I don't know what she'd do." He said looking to his mother. "I'm the only one she has. I can't help thinking, what if what happened to..." He hesitated, he didn't want to mention he⁴mr name, he never did. "... what if what happened to Violet happens to us." Ryuji sighed.

Ren took a moment. He wasn't alone in that thought. It was a thought that Ren wrestled with constantly. He looked to Ryuji. "I will not let that happen. Not again. I'm not... we're not loosing anyone else. I promise." 

Ryuji looked at Ren, he saw in his eyes that he meant what he said. He nodded. "Thanks. Give me some more time before we leave alright." Ryuji said. They all stood up.

Ann sat down on one of the seats while Ryuji went to his mothers side. Ren leaned back against the wall and lost himself in his thoughts.

Violet. Oh Violet. Ren missed her. He knew he shouldn't blame himself but he still felt responsible, how could he not. Besides, he wasn't alone in thinking him responsible. That's why after they'd both agreed that... Ren shook his head, he didn't want to think about this, not here, not now.

"Take as much time as you need buddy, we can stay as long as long as you want." He said once again placing a hand on Ryuji's shoulder. Ren would not let what happened to Violet happens to any of the others, no matter what. Ren wasn't suicidal, he never was and hopefully never would be, but he would give his life 10 times over if it meant he could save them. Ren had sworn a while ago that no one would meet the same fate she did, and heant that. If one day, Shirogane threatened to take his family away from him then he would do the same to her.  
\----------

She strummed her fingers in frustration. This whole situation was terrible. Recent events had tanked the companies stock. She'd ordered an inquiry into the origin of the rumours, thinking she could at least know that. But the report she was given wasn't helpful.

The report said that the rumours originated from the Phantom Thieves phansite. The rumours that Kaneshiro had mafia ties, she'd had close dealings with Kaneshieo before, something people were quick to remember and given her companies past, accuse her of the same.

The rumours were bogus of course, of course they were. She knew she had no mafia ties or illegal dealings and she'd known Kaneshiro for a while now, he was perfectly legitimate. When the phatom thieves targeted him it was trouble enough but now her whole company was threatened. Thanks to the rumours there was now a police investigation about her and her business practices.

She sighed and stood, this was not what she needed right now but at least she didn't have it as bad as Okumera did but then again she much better than Okumera. He'd underpaid and overworked his employees on top of that he was most likely in league with the Mafia as well. If nothing else she prided herself on being generous to her employees.

The phantom thieves, before they were merely a point of intrigue but now they had caused a hindrance to her. She was thankful that she'd pulled strings to get Naoto assigned to the case when she did, it was lucky that the phantom thieves had done a heist and made a public calling card when they did. It provided a good excuse to get her assigned to the case, even if she had to sidestep some official procedure to get it done.

She walked to her window, it was a nice view. She pulled up Naoto's latest report to her on her tablet, she had some suspects but wanted more evidence before moving in. Her call today at confirmed everything here. They both felt like they had no room to breathe and that her options had run out. Things used to be so much easier before she'd inherited the company.

"How did you manage it father?" She asked, looking at the sky. "And I'd only just cleared the company of suspicion from the tartarus incident." Tartarus, that wasn't something she thought of often anymore. She didn't miss those times, when she and her friends would go at night to investigate the literal underground network of crime.

She heard a buzz as her assistant spoke through the line to the phone on her desk, currently set to speaker. "Excuse me Miss. But he's here, would you like me to send him in?" She walked over to the machine and pressed the button so she could respond.

"Yes, please do so." She sat on the corner of her desk, waiting. She thought back again. Once upon a time she had feelings for him, maybe some still remained but her work had gotten in the way of pursuing any sort of relationship. She heard a knock at the door. "Come in." She responded with, the man on the other side opened the door, stepped in and smiled at the sight of his friend.

"Akihiko, you're a sight for tired eyes. It's good to see you again and I'm sorry that this isn't a personal call but there's something I need you to do for me." She said.

Akihiko smiled. "You don't have to apologise, I understand. This is about the situation in tokyo right? I've been following it loosely. What do you need me to do Mitsuru?"  
\----------

Rise smiled as she looked at her last text to Yu. She made him think that she was getting back next week but in actuality she was getting home today, she was already in the way. She giggled at the thought of suprising him, he would be so shocked.

She would get to see Naoto too, that was good it had been a while since they'd hung out. She was busy with the phantom thief case apparently but maybe at some point they could have time just the two of them. She knew a great bathhouse, maybe they could head there.

She was snapped put of her thoughts as the train announced it had arrived at the station. She donned her sunglasses again and exited the station, making her way to the next line. It was just then that her agent texted her and she looked down at her phone. Suddenly she tripped as she collided with someone.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." Rise said apologetically, looking down. Her sunglasses had flown off and she hoped that she wouldn't be recognised.

"That's alright, I wasn't either really so it's no big deal." Said the voice of a woman. "Oh are these your sunglasses?" Asked the woman. Rise slowly looked up at her she was wearing a black top and jeans, she had black hair in a bob. Rise figured she was a reporter, she'd met enough to recognise them when she saw them.

"Hey, you look familiar. Do I know you?" Ohya asked the young woman.

"Oh, probably not. I just have one of those faces you know." She said taking her sunglasses and putting them on. I'm really sorry for bumping in to you but I really should go sorry." She said leaving. She was awful quick to leave, probably scared she would be recognised.

Ohya took out switched her phone back on, opened the contacts and tapped on Ren's name.

Ohya: Remember you asked me to look into the location of those people on the list you gave me? Well I just bumped into one here in Station Square, literally. Want me to tail her?

She then sent the picture of Risette that she'd subtly taken, the one that cause her to bump into her. It wasn't her best shot ever but it was pretty clear that it was the Idol.

She wasn't expecting a response form him, he usually didn't respond which she was fine with, she understood why. Although this time he did respond.

Ren: No it's alright, we can handle her now.

Ohya smiled. Alright then, that was one less name she had to look into.

Ohya: Alright then, good luck Mr Thief.

Now, Risette was off the list, that was good. She opened the note Ren had given her to see who was next. Yosuke Hanamura. Ohya didn't know exactly why Ren wanted information about where these people were, but he'd told her that he needed in person confirmation and not just online updates. She didn't inquire further, he'd always told her that the less she knew the better. And honestly he was right, she didn't know if he'd ever be caught but if he was and she was named then she was fairly confident that she couldn't be charged with anything, especially since she knew nothing about his plans or schemes.

She sighed and smiled. While she wasn't a member herself, she did enjoy being part of his network. She looked at one of the screens nearby, it was showing the news. Ohya shook her head a little. It was reporting on the recent rumours that had blown up around Kaneshiro's and Madarame's potential mafia ties. If she had the choice she'd be investigating that but maybe that's what the Phantom Thieves were for.  
\----------

Ren had to think fast. Rise was here in Tokyo, this was the perfect chance to make a move. He texted Futaba, asking her to follow Rise through cameras and went to run to the train station. He stopped at the door. Rise hadn't done anything, she'd not slighted him or any of the others in anyway.

Ren sat down in the seat. He mentally punished himself for nearly making a move against someone who had done him no harm. This whole situation was beginning to cloud his judgement, if he didn't solve it soon then he worried he might end up doing something drastic. For now though perhaps just a warning would do.

Ren texted Futaba again, this time with different instructions.  
\----------

Naoto was surprised, Rise had come home early and surprised her and Yu. After greeting her and catching up briefly, Rise left to shower and Yu to cook dinner. That was her phone had buzzed.

It was a message from a number she didn't recognise.

Alibaba: Happy Reunion?

The text was followed by a picture of Rise looking at her phone. Naoto recognised this place, It was by station square. It must have been taken recently.

When Naoto tried to text back she was hit with a message e that says the number could not be reached. Now she had two of those numbers. But who was Alibaba? A phantom thief? Why not say so?

She turned to her laptop. It was currently on the phansite and she'd been searching for something, Violet specifically. She'd found nothing on the phansite about it, the only way she'd probably find out about this was someone who knew already.

Naoto sat back and pondered her options. Now not only was she playing a complicated chess game with the phantom thieves but now she had another player threatening one of her friends. Naoto reached a conclusion. She reckoned it was time for Akechi to answer a few questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter. I wasn't sure about where to put the Mitsuru section but decided to put it in the middle as she's not the focus of the story currently. Thanks for reading xx


	12. No more holding back!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naoto interrogates Akechi. Akihiko learns about the Phantom thieves from a criminals perspective and Ren gives Futaba 'gifts' in order for her to start preparing for their next heist.

Akechi drummed his fingers on the metal table, ignoring the questions he was being asked. He was above this. He was a detective, he wasn't supposed to be the detained. Anyway it was no matter, she shouldn't have any evidence against him.

Naoto was shouting at him now. He just rolled his eyes. In response she backhanded him lightly. Perhaps it was time he started paying attention again. "I didn't take you for one to partake in physical violence." He taunted.

"I... I'm not, I don't know what came over me." She looked genuinely shocked. "I apologise for that."

"No need." Akechi said checking the side of his face for bruises or cuts. "Its my fault, I wasn't answering your questions."

Naoto looked down. She could tell he was taunting her, but maybe it was worth trying again. Naoto sighed and sat down again. "Alright then, we'll try again. What is your connection to the phantom thieves?" She asked.

"I have no connection to them. I was investigating them like you are, that's as close as I ever got."

"How do you know Ren Amamiya?"

"Ren Amamiya? How is he relevant?" Akechi scoffed.

"Answer the question please."

"I first met Ren Amamiya when his class attended a television shoot that I was on. I also like the coffee at the cafe he works at, I didn't realise enjoying coffee was a crime." He taunted again.

Naoto ignored his comment. "Very well then." She could tell where this was going, she wasn't gonna get anywhere with these questions. She stood and turned, massaging her brow. She walked around a little, she hated to ask it this early but maybe it would catch him off guard. She spun.

Akechi was feeling smug with himself, all the questions she could ask he'd be able to evade. He'd been preparing incase this happened so he had answers that made sure he didn't incriminate himself. Then she spun around with a curious look in her eye. "Who is Violet? What is their name?"

That wasn't a question he expected. How did she even know about Violet? Both the police and the thieves made sure to erase any trace of her, for different reasons of course. "How the hell-" He began to say but was interupted by a loud shout.

"SHIROGANE!" They heard the commissioner shout. Akechi smirked.

"He sounds angry. I can wait." He commented.

Naoto sighed and opened the door. This couldn't be good. She saw the commissioner storming towards her looking furious. She was hoping that Akechi would have given her something solid by now. Naoto stood her ground and looked at as he approached her. "Why is my second best detective in that room." He asked. Before Naoto could respond he interupted her. "Do you have solid evidence to justify arresting him?" He asked.

Naoto sighed quickly. "I... No-..." She looked down. Taking him in for questioning was risky and she knew it but she desperately wanted answers, she wasn't thinking. "He's a suspect, it was a lapse of judgement."

"A lapse of judgement?! Do you realise what you've just done?" Once again before she could answer he interupted. "This interrogation is over, release and apologise to Akechi and then come to my office. We are going to have a serious talk about following proper procedure." He said before turning away.

Naoto sighed. She reentered the room. "That went well." Akechi taunted. Naoto ignored him and turned off the recording device on the table. "I apologise. You're free to go." She said quietly before turning away and walking to the door.

"I thought you wanted to know about Violet?" Akechi taunted again, this time in a much different tone than she'd heard him use before. "Sit back down and I'll tell you everything I know." He said in an almost terrifyingly serious way.

Naoto sat down and looked at him. "You really mean it don't you? Why tell me?" She said taking out a notepad and pencil.

Akechi smirked. "Because you finally asked the right question. Where to begin. First of all Violet was a unique phantom thief. It was the codename of two people. Twins. Kasumi and Sumire Yoshizawa. They were both high school champion gymnasts."

"Wait hang on. Twins? Why give two people the same codename?" Naoto said writing all he said down.

"They both wanted to be members. Kasumi, the poor girl, joined because she fell in love with the phantom thieves. Sumire joined because her sister did. Given how identical they were it was advantageous. Based on what little I know of them, their role was infiltration specialist and there was only ever one of them on a mission at a time." Akechi continued.

Naoto was confused. "Infiltration specialist? I thought Panther was the Infiltration specialist?" She said.

"Infiltration is about stealth. A girl in a bright red catsuit as the infiltration specialist? That's not very stealthy. For an ace detective you sure do miss the obvious alot." He said with scorn.

Naoto finished writing what he'd revealed about Violet. "So, why have they been totally erased from the phansite and why isn't she mentioned in the dossier?" She asked curiously.

"Well, somehow, Kasumi Yoshizawa was caught. She was taken to a special interrogation room by detectives but refused to talk. She died a day later from a drug overdose due to the serum they gave her, after that they tried to erase her existence in the case. As a result of her sisters death Sumire left the Phantom Thieves and they tried to erase all connection with her." Then he leaned close. "And between you and me, I think she blames Joker for her death." Akechi explained before standing up. "But anyway, you should get to that meeting now."

Naoto finished writing and stood up. "Thank you for what you've told me." She said walking to the door.

"Believe me detective." He said warmly before his expression and coral then changed to something alot more menacing and almost... psychotic. "It was my pleasure." He then left and walked to the commissioners office.

Naoto looked down as she followed the same path, not being in the mood to perceive her colleagues stares. When she arrived at his office, she decided to wait until Akechi left.

It took about ten minutes but eventually he exited the office he looked at her and gave her a slight smile. The worst part was she couldn't tell if it was a sincere smile or not. Naoto brushed off his smile and turned into the office.

As she entered and closed the door the commissioner sighed deeply. "I've decided to skip the lecture. You know proper procedure, so I don't fully believe you lapse of judgement excuse. Suspect or not, you had no grounds to detain and interrogate him. You had no solid evidence as to his guilt of your claims. You should have remembered that before detaining him."

Naoto bowed. "You're right, I apologise for my unprofessional and reckless action."

The commissioner spoke up again. "You're lucky Shirogane. He's agreed not to take legal action for unlawful arrest. We mutually agreed that he would get a transfer. Until the phantom thief case is dealt with or until I deem otherwise."

Naoto was surprised at this. "I- I see..."

"Unless you do wish me to lecture you then you can go." He said.

Naoto bowed once more in apology and turned to the door. "If I may be so bold as to ask. Where is Akechi being transferred?"

"Akechi is going to be transfered to someone small country town. Iniba." The commissioner answered.

If Naoto had alarm bells in her mind, they would have been going off. She ran out of his office so fast she barely remembered to close the door. She could see it clearly now, their plan, the phantom thieves were going to threaten her friends to get her to back off the case. She had to warn them, they should know.  
\----------

Akihiko sat at the cafe waiting. He didn't expect the contact to meet him at this location, he would have thought it would be somewhere more... discreet.

His eyes combed the street, until he saw his contact approaching the cafe, with nothing in hand. Akihiko silently cursed. Something must have happened. He smiled as the contact entered and sat down at the table with him.

"Akihiko, it's been far too long." He said.

"Not far enough for my liking, we didn't exactly part on the best terms last time." Aki grumbled.

"Come on, that wasn't personal, you know how it is. I've gotta do what they tell me to and if I don't then they'll replace me with someone who will." He justified.

"Yeah yeah, I know." Aki waved off. He was right of course, but Aki was stubborn so he wouldn't admit it. "Speaking of business let's get to it. Did you do what I asked you to?"

He sighed. "Yes but... but there wasn't anything worth remembering, only what everyone already knows."

Aki couldn't believe it. "What? You're the Mafia or the Yakuza or whatever the hell you call yourselves. How can you not know anything about them?"

"These guys are called the Phantom Thieves for a reason Aki. Nobody has seen them in action, nobody knows their names and nobody knows their methods. You're picking a big fish to fry, you want my advice? Leave the fish alone." The contact explained.

"I can't leave them alone, I have a job to do and I'm gonna do it." Akihiko said, stoically.

"Seriously Akihiko, these guys are dangerous. Everyone we've sent on their trail has been busted somehow or vanished without a trace." He warned.

"I can't leave this alone I'm sorry." Akihiko said. "Is there anywhere you can think of that might be useful for gathering information." Akihiko asked, he needed more than this.

The contact sat and thought for a minute. "Yeah actually, go to this address." He said writing an address in a napkin. "It's a place known as Club Velvet, fixers hang out there alot. A new rumor underground says that one of the new ones is with the phantom thieves, goes by Morgana. He's apparently pretty good too."

Akihiko took what he said in and nodded. "Alright, thank you." He stood up, might as well check the place out at least. As he was leaving his contact spoke up again.

"Aki. Just be careful. They aren't like all the other criminals in this city, the only reason people know they exist is because they want people to know. If you go too far down their rabbit hole you won't be able to come back out." He warned once again.

Akihiko listened but responded with merely a grunt of acknowledgement. He'd helped bring down a criminal organisation before, this should be similar. Right?  
\----------

Ren brought out a bag. Inside were maps, blueprints and photos. All in relation to their next heist. Their 'grand heist' as he'd taken to calling it.

"What's all this?" Futaba said peeking at some of the images. "Is this the place I think it is?" She said with wide eyes. She lifted another image. "It is! We're hitting here?"

"We are that's right. I need you to start preparing." Ren said.

"Ren this isn't like all our other targets! This is a big casino, it's going to have tons of security and the money is going to be locked up tight." Futaba pointed out.

"Who said we're going after the money? If you want money, you don't rob a Casino, the risk outweighs the reward." Ren said.

"Then... why are we hitting it." Futaba asked.

"I promise, at the group meeting about this you will find out. But for now, I need you to do your thing." Ren said.

Futaba cracked her knuckles. "If you say so, just leave the bag here, I'll get to it at some point." She said as Ren nodded and left the room. She sighed and took another look at one of the picture. "Shido's Grand Casino... Ren must be out of his mind."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you haven't realised by now, this case is taking a toll on Naoto. It's making her cut corners and sidestep procedure. It's making her more stressed and the more stressed she gets the more she'll focus on solving it and getting the thieves. On the flip side, the more Naoto focuses on getting them, the more measures Ren takes to protect the thieves.


	13. A breathtaking sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naoto investigates Sumire while Akihiko investigates Club Velvet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay it's here! Sorry for keeping you all waiting, this was gonna be out earlier but then Strikers cam route and the game was very addictive. Anyway it's here now.

Nakto compared her note she'd taken to the street address, when she was confident she had the right house she flipped to a different page in her notebook. This was it, Sumire Yoshizawas house, she hoped Sumire would hear her out. She was the only real lead she had at the moment. With what happened with Akechi she was on thin ice with the commissioner, so she needed this. She took a breath, walked to the door and knocked.

A man answered the door, he looked to be about middle aged. "Can I help you?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm Dective Naoto Shirogane." She said bringing out a badge that she'd been given for her tenure in tokyo. "I'm investigating a case and I have some questions for her." She explained.

"Is she in trouble?" He asked, concerned and farrowing his brow.

"No not at all. I just think she used to know one of the suspects we have, I only need to run a few things by her for clarification." Naoto said, it was the easiest explanation while still being half true.

"Okay come in, let me let her know you are here." He said inviting Naoto in then walking further into the house.

It was a nice house. There were a few art pieces on the walls and on a cabinet were several picture frames, a couple of them were turned down so they weren't showing. The ones that she could see were pictures of a man and a woman, the father and mother, with one showing a sheepish looking girl with long hair and glasses. Carefully and quietly Naoto peeked at the ones that were face down, they all featured a girl nearly identical to the other, but this one had no glasses and her hair was tied back. They must still be in mourning, Naoto concluded.

After a few minutes the father came back. "Okay she's ready, this way." He said leading her to Sumire's room. He nodded to her as Naoto stepped in and the door was closed behind her.

Looking in the room, she was surprised at the amount of space, it was a large room. In the furthest corner from the door was a large white bed. At the foot of it, against the wall was a white dresser. On the opposite wall was a series of shelves and a large desk. Overall it was quite a nice room. The girl, Sumire was sitting on the edge of her bed expectantly.

"Hi, I'm sorry this is so sudden. I'm Naoto Shirogane." Naoto said greeting her.

"I know who you are Miss Shirogane and... I think I probably know why you are here." She said looking dow at the floor.

"Good, that makes starting this conversation alot easier. Are you comfortable to start?" Sumire nodded. "So, as you've probably surmised I'm here about the Phantom Thieves." She said quietly. Sumire closed her eyes.

"I guessed." She said.

"The first question I want to ask you is about the man I believe to be their leader. I should preface this by saying, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, I know about the relationship you had with them. Just know that if you do choose to help me and answer my questions fully then I would greatly appreciate it." When she believed she'd given her enough time to take it in she continued. "Alright, my first question. I'm just going to get right into it. You were a member of the phantom thieves, weren't you?" Naoto asked.

Sumire nodded. "Yes, I joined when... I joined when Kasumi did."

"Why did you join if I may ask." Naoto followed up with.

"I... I didn't agree with what they were doing. I was always of the mind that societal change should come about in a legal way that harms no one. But Kasumi disagreed, she thought... she believed in their cause. In his cause." She said, with a little venom in the last part, Naoto noticed. "I only joined because Kasumi wanted me to, she said that if I just went along with her. I'd change my mind."

Naoto looked up from her notebook. "I see. I am sorry for your loss by the way, what happened to her was disgraceful." Naoto said solemnly.

Sumire stood suddenly and walked over to a mirror in her room. "It was horrible. It shouldn't have happened." 

"I know and when this investigation is complete, I'm going to assist in an internal investigation about it." Naoto said.

"That's not what I mean. I mean him. He shouldn't have let it happen. He told us it wouldn't happen, he promised us." Naoto could see in the mirror that the poor girls eyes were beginning to water. "She trusted him, I trusted him. And look where it got us."

"Are you... are you talking about who I think you are?" Naoto asked, trying to confirm.

"Ren Amimiya, that son of a-" She stopped herself. "Yes, he's their leader, he's Joker." She said turning. "Is that what you wanted?" She asked tears in her eyes.

"Yes partly... I'm sorry I didn't mean to... to bring up those memories.." She said apologetically. Naoto stood. "I can see that I've made you uncomfortable... I'll leave."

"Wait." She heard as she got to the door. "I'm okay... I can continue." Sumire said.

"If you're sure." Naoto said turning. "Well then... what can you tell me about the other members?"

Sumire stood and walked over to a drawer. She opened it and rooted around until she brought out a picture. It was a group of teens gathered in a selfie. Some of them were very familiar to Naoto, one of them was Sumire herself. "This is a picture that was taken shortly after me and my sister joined. Everyone there is a member. There are only two members who aren't there." She explained.

"Two members? Who are they?" Naoto asked.

"I don't know them by name, only what Ren told us of them. One of them was someone in the police force, an inside man." Naoto nodded, Goro Akechi she thought. "The other was a fixer, I don't know much of anything about him though." So they had a fixer, yeah that makes sense, she thought.

Naoto took a proper look at the picture now and blinked. "Wait a second. You're sure everyone here is a member.?" Naoto asked in disbelief.

Sumire nodded. "Yes, everyone in that picture is a phantom thief."

Well shit, this case just got alot more complicated than she expected. "I... I recognise thise two. That's Yusuke Kitagawa and... and Haru Okumera. Why are you telling me this? I thought you parted with them on neutral terms." Naoto asked looking at the girl.

"Because Ren Amimiya got my sister killed." Sumire looked Naoto in the eyes. "So I will tell you anything you wish to know about them if it helps to bring him down."

\----------

Akihiko lurked in the alley, he had his brown cloak on and was trying to not be seen. He'd been there for the past ten minutes, watching who was coming and going, observing security and trying to determine a way in.

"Argh. That bouncer isn't leaving." He groaned in frustration, the bouncer had been there since before Akihiko had arrived. "Maybe I should try another angle." He said to himself. The club was bigger than he thought, for a supposed criminal hotspot he expected something discreet, maybe a door in an alley that led to an underground bar. Instead what it was, was a big building with the words Club Velvet in neon plastered on the side, it definitely wasn't discreet.

"Shit." He said rubbing a hand through his hair. "Might as well try to get in the right way first." He walked towards the club entrance and approached the bouncer.

As he got close the bouncer held up a hand. "I don't recognise you, this club is invite only and I don't have any names to be expected." Shit, it was invite only. He was worried this was the case. He only knew one name, it was worth a shot. "I was invited, by Morgana." He said, faking confidence.

The bouncer tilted his head. "I... I see. Very well." He said slowly. "In that case..." The bouncer turned and opened the door. "Welcome to Club Velvet." Akihiko nodded and walked in.

Immediately he was blinded by blue lights. When he got his bearings he saw an interior illuminated by low, dark blue lights. It was busy, there was a dance floor with a fair amount of people dancing, a large bar on the far wall and stairs in the leftmost corner which led upwards. There was a glass ceiling on this floor which due to the angle of the lights, let those above see below but not vice versa.

Akihiko didn't know where to start, he didn't think he'd get in nevermind that it would be this big. Honestly he was kinda disoriented, he never did do well with nightclubs, the sound and the lights really did his head in. He took a few steps forward then suddenly stopped, something felt extremely wrong, maybe it was his old muscle memory kicking back in but Akihiko could feel several pairs of eyes watching him and it definitely wasn't paranoia.

He took one last glance over the place before spinning on his heel. As he was exiting the bouncer stopped him saying that he couldn't leave this way, Akihiko pretended he was gonna vomit and the bouncer quickly ushered him past, then Akihiko ran into an alley.

After making sure he couldn't be seen he looked back, and he saw several quite serious looking men, some with weapons coming towards him. Akihiko had no time to think, if they got much closer they would see him. He had no time to think about who they were or what they wanted, he had to strike. Akihiko crouched down and braced one leg like a spring, ready to propel him upwards.

The moment they were close enough Akihiko launched himself up fist first and there was a loud crack, then the man fell as Aki's suprise attack had caught him off guard. Moving quick he half turned and knocked an elbow into one of the men now beside him. The man punched at him but Akihiko slipped under and launched three strikes in his face which made the man stumble back and fall against the wall.

He turned his head right to see who else was here. There were three more men, two of whom had pistols aimed right at him. There were bangs as guns were fired and Akihiko launched himself forward and low. If he tried to run away back into the alley they would surely gun him down. His only hope was disarming them and then running or incapacitating them entirely.

His body impacted with the stomach of one of the men, which with the momentum caused the man to stumble back. Quickly Akihiko stumbled up himself, going for the man's gun. However there was one problem, the man hadn't let go of it so now he was trying to wrestle a gun from him. Then suddenly there were two loud gunshots and he then felt two large shoots of pain. Shit, that hurt. Acting on instinct again, he changed his position to gain a grip on the man's neck and flipped him round. Akihiko now had a grip round his chest and a grip on his gun, which was now pointing at the other two. 

Akihiko grunted, that had taken alot of effort and he was quickly running out of energy. He had to be decisive now, Akihiko aimed the man's gun at the men and fired, one man fell as he'd been grazed on the side of his head and was now bleeding badly, the other fell to his knees with two bullets in his leg and one in his shoulders.

Akihiko squeezed the wrist of the man he had in his grip, forcing him to drop his gun. As it fell Akihiko kicked it away further, then released the man and turned around. He ran as fast as he could, he got through several alleys and arrived at a busy street before his strength gave out. He put a hand against a brick wall and leaned on it. "Shit. I knew that was a bad idea. I'm an idiot." He said through gritted teeth looking at his crimson soaked hand.

He took a few steps, trying to get further into the street, if he could get someone's attention directly, ask them to call for help then maybe- Urk, another shoot of pain. He looked up, his vision was blurred now, he could see several people walking past, he saw some sort of mascot in the distance and someone sat at a blue clothed table. Maybe, maybe they would, maybe they could help him. Akihiko took a step then collapsed on the ground, he winced and his vision grew dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, I was conflicted about leaving it like this but you know me by now right? I love a good cliffhanger...


End file.
